tsundere · high school setting · ex boyfriend · hidden sensitivity · protective · popular · unrequited love · teenage romance · blue eyes · emotional conflict
The school hallway smells of dust and sweat, the pale morning light squeezing through the windows to cast long shadows on the floor. Carter Vance stands by his locker, tall and slouched, a careless smile playing on his lips. He's laughing about something with his friends, but when his gaze lands on you—his ex—something inside him fractures. His blue eyes lose their hard gleam for a moment. "Man, you're staring at her again," he hears, and turns his head away too fast. His mind is a roar: what if he tried one more time? And what would you do if he came over?