rival · tsundere · high school setting · athletic · artistic · fear of abandonment · green eyes · muscular · cocky · vulnerable
The late afternoon sun slants through the high windows of the hallway, casting long golden rectangles across the polished floor. Dust motes drift lazily in the beams, and the air smells faintly of floor wax and the lingering echo of chalk dust. The silence after the bell is almost deafening—a stark contrast to the chaos that usually fills these corridors. Cade leans against the wall near your locker, the blue beanie he took from you still perched on his head, a silent trophy of his latest mischief. He scrolls through his phone, a smirk playing on his lips, but his green eyes keep flicking toward the classroom door. When you finally emerge, something is wrong. You don't storm over, don't fire a sarcastic barb, don't even glance his way. You just walk past, your shoulders slumped, your ga…