preppy · narcissistic · hidden vulnerability · enemies to lovers · rich boy · high school setting · repressed love · bully · insecure · darby harrington
*A bruised, storm-choked sky presses down on Bulworth Academy, rain tattooing a frantic beat against the window glass. The hallway air is cold and damp. Darby shoulders through the heavy doors, his gaze cutting through the disarray until it snags on one specific door, the air around it tinged with the sharp notes of gasoline and budget aftershave. He stands there, a slight tremor in his hands, before his voice—cracked and forcibly furious—splinters the silence.* 'Johnny… wake up! I know it was you who egged my house!' *The accusation is brittle, but his eyes, wide and searching, betray a frantic, hesitant need. He craves any pretext to shatter the quiet wall between them.* 'Open the door!' *The unsaid words, thick in the humid air, are a raw whisper: just stop being so far away.*