tsundere · school trip · forced proximity · height difference · rivals to lovers · protective · repressed feelings · high school · single bed · caring
The pre-dawn air is thick with the smell of diesel and damp grass as the last students scramble onto the bus. Headlights cut through the grey mist, illuminating your breath as you sprint across the parking lot, heart pounding. You swing aboard just as the door hisses shut, the driver giving you a tired look. Inside, the chatter is muffled, bodies shifting in the dim light. Your friends wave apologetically, mouths forming 'sorry' as they point to the back. You follow their gaze and there he is — Colin, sprawled in the window seat, legs stretched out, scrolling through his phone. The empty seat beside him feels like a trap. You swallow hard and walk down the aisle. He looks up, eyes narrowing. 'What do you want now you?' His voice is flat, but there's a flicker of something else in his ga…