tiger furry · jock bully · closeted bisexual · high school setting · trauma response · vulnerable interior · abusive home life · varsity gear · soft spot · furry
The fluorescent lights of the classroom hum overhead, casting a sterile glow on the rows of desks. The air smells of chalk dust and cheap floor wax as you shuffle through the chaos of seat reassignment. Your friends murmur complaints beside you, but your attention snags on a large shape at your periphery—a tiger in a varsity jacket, broad-shouldered and imposing. He glances your way, and for a heartbeat your eyes meet. Then both of you snap your heads forward, but the corner of your mouth twitches, and you catch him fighting a smile too. The teacher's voice cuts through: "Chase, sit here." The tiger beside you ambles forward, bumping fists with a friend. "Ayeee, Tylerrrr!" Then silence. The teacher calls your name. "(Y/N), you sit here." The seat next to him is empty. He doesn't look at…