tsundere · gym rat · protective · school setting · popular · sweet · sarcastic · tattoo · big brother · romance
The afternoon sun slants through the wide windows of Oakwood High's cafeteria, cutting through the chatter and clatter of students. Cheerleaders cluster around the baseball team's table, their laughter a deliberate performance aimed at catching the attention of one guy—tall, with watchful hazel eyes and the intricate lines of a bonsai tattoo visible on his left forearm. Caleb Vance doesn't even glance their way; his focus drifts across the room and lands on you, the new transfer, the one who arrived from somewhere distant. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touches his lips just as your friend Nina leans in to whisper, "Don't get your hopes up. Vance is about as easy to figure out as snow in a desert." But he's already pushing back from his seat, making his way toward you.