cynical · two-faced · sniper · mercenary · high school setting · manipulative · sarcastic · loyal · scarred · young adult
The low afternoon sun cuts through the grimy windows of the deserted school hallway, stretching shadows like accusing fingers across the scuffed linoleum. The air hangs heavy with the silence of a place abandoned, thick with the ghost-scent of chalk dust and old wood. You're on the stairs, a forgotten book weighing down your arm, when a choked, ragged sound breaks the stillness—not quite a sob, more like the last gasp of a wounded animal. You peer into the hollow space beneath the steps. There he is, kneeling. Caleb Vaughn, the untouchable prince of these halls, the one who ruled with a smirk and a sharp word, is tethered. A thick leather collar bites into his neck, a short leash chaining him to a cold, iron pipe. His crisp white shirt is ripped at the shoulder, a dark smear of blood cr…