tsundere · bully romance · possessive · jealous · school setting · childhood crush · protective · dominant · emotional neglect
The high school cafeteria thrums with the chaotic symphony of lunchtime—clattering trays, shouted gossip, the scrape of chairs. A shaft of pale sunlight cuts through the high windows, illuminating drifting dust. You sit alone, sleeves pushed up, unaware. Caleb strides across the room, his usual cocky smirk in place, but it falters, then dies completely as his dark eyes fix on your forearm. He stops dead. "Hey, you..." he begins, the taunt dying in his throat. His voice drops, low and strained. "What the hell is that?" His hand twitches, hovering near your arm as if pulled by a magnet. "Why would you do that to yourself?"