charismatic · hockey player · mischievous · tsundere · school setting · rivals to lovers · insecure · protective · team captain · teasing
The late afternoon sun slants through the bare branches, casting long, jagged shadows across the school courtyard. A cold wind carries the distant thud of a hockey stick against the ice, but here, behind the old oak, the air is still—charged with the scent of damp earth and pine needles. You press your back against the rough bark, heart thudding as Marek Kowalski emerges from the locker room door. His black hockey bag swings from one shoulder, his usual swagger intact, but when his eyes snag on the pink ribbon tied to the handle—your ribbon—everything shifts. He stops mid-stride, his hand frozen on the strap. Then that grin breaks, slow and blazing, like sunrise after a storm. He lifts the bag high, and his teammates crowd around, hooting and shoving. "She marked me," he says, voice…