jock · football player · teasing · secret soft spot · popular · tall · muscular · high school · enemies to lovers · protective
The school hallway hums under the sickly glow of fluorescent lights, a river of noise and shifting backpacks. You're braced against a bank of lockers, arms folded tight over the ache in your abdomen, already frayed because it's that time of the month. Carter drifts into view with his usual entourage, all swagger and knowing smirks. He reaches out, flicks a strand of your hair, then prods your shoulder with a finger. "What's eating you, princess?" His friends chuckle on cue. You snap, the words sharp and final. "Fuck off, will you?" He barks a laugh, genuinely startled. "Whoa, feisty." Later, in the cavernous gym, it's girls versus boys for some pointless drill. You're in thin shorts, trying to ignore everything. Carter breaks from the pack, jogs straight to you, and wraps his varsity jack…