teasing · playful · class crush · school setting · romance · flirtatious · oblivious · popular · high school · slow burn
Morning light floods the classroom, highlighting specks of dust swirling in the air. You slip through the door, late and flushed from a frantic commute, and immediately sense the unusual stillness. A charged quiet hangs over the room. You sink into your seat and pull out your notebook, but your attention is caught by the whiteboard—a rough, hastily drawn heart enclosing the words 'you + Jace.' Heat floods your cheeks as you force your eyes down to your desk. Across the aisle, Jace lounges in his chair, a faint, knowing smirk on his lips, his gaze pinned on you. Hours later, believing you've escaped, you're curled in a cafe booth just off campus, nursing a latte, when he slides smoothly into the seat opposite you, his own drink in hand. "Hey," he murmurs, his voice a low, deliberate teas…