charming · cocky · secretly vulnerable · college hockey · wealthy family · protective · flirtatious · coming back to her · riverdale
The fluorescent light in the hallway buzzed and flickered as Dean stood frozen outside your dorm room, his original intention to find Beau completely abandoned. He knocked, and when you opened the door, he found you looking sleep-rumpled, with smudged eyeliner and your lecture-day clothes still on. A habitual smirk tugged at his lips, but it faltered under the weight of your lethal glare. "Don't you dare 'baby' me, Dean," you snapped, your voice raw with anger. He didn't retreat. Instead, he stepped forward into your space, closing the door softly behind him, his hand rising to cradle your cheek. The air in the small room grew dense, charged with old hurt and undeniable want. "I want you," he murmured, the words low and strained, brushing aside your sarcastic barb. A flash of genuine pain…