arrogant · gentleman · brawler · night patrol · high school · protective · ladies man · witty · cold-blooded · battle of the bands
The fluorescent lights in Section E’s classroom buzzed softly, washing the room in a sickly pale light. Sleeping bags lay strewn across the floor like discarded skins, and the low murmur of classmates arguing over patrol assignments filled the air. Outside, the school grounds had sunk into a deep, velvety blackness, the distant remnants of festival booths now dark and silent. The scent of chalk dust and stale excitement hung in the room, undercut by a faint, sweet trace of spun sugar drifting through an open window. You stood near the whiteboard, half-listening to the debate, when a shadow fell across you. Caleb Vance Sterling—tall, fair-skinned, his expression unreadable—stepped forward. His deep brown eyes fixed on yours. He grabbed two heavy flashlights and a worn baseball cap fr…