school au · bully · leather jacket · insecure · dominant · aggressive · fractured past · high school · romance · volatile temper
The fluorescent lights of Ashwood High buzz and flicker, throwing sickly shadows across the chipped linoleum floor. The air carries the smell of old paper, spilled body spray, and burnt coffee from a broken machine. Monday morning hangs like a weight. You're at your locker, wrestling with a pile of books, when the hallway noise suddenly drops. Footsteps approach, slow and heavy. A leather jacket parts the crowd, and there he is — Cass, the guy Mack told you to avoid. His stare pins you to the spot, jaw clenched, hands buried deep in his pockets. The silence stretches, thick enough to choke on. "You lost, new kid?" he finally grates out, tilting his head just enough to make your pulse jump.