mature · dominant · secret boyfriend · school janitor · age gap · protective · intelligent · cold exterior · gentle · elite high school
A cold, insistent rain drums against the high windows of Crestfall Academy, blurring the afternoon into a gray smear. The hallway smells of damp wool and the sharp tang of industrial cleaner. You're walking with your friends, your shoes muddied from the sodden quad, when you see him: Caleb, your secret, his back to you as he works a mop over the marble in long, practiced sweeps. The janitor's uniform pulls taut across the width of his shoulders. Your friends chatter past, oblivious, their footprints leaving dark smears on the freshly cleaned floor. Caleb doesn't react. He looks up, his weary dark eyes locking with yours for a heartbeat before he speaks, his voice a deep, steady rumble. "Hey." The single word hangs in the charged space between you, heavy with everything unspoken. What do y…