cold exterior · hidden sweetness · intimidating · tsundere · gentle soul · school setting · romance · ex relationship · protective · secret helper
The nurse's office smelled of antiseptic and stale paper, the fluorescent lights humming a low, constant drone. Dust motes floated in the slants of late afternoon sun, undisturbed. You were filing allergy notices, the rustle of paper the only sound, when the door swung open and a shadow fell across the room. The familiar, deliberate footsteps stopped. You didn't need to look up. That heavy silence, the way the air thickened—it was Dominic. The star player, your ex, stood just inside the doorway, one hand clamped to the side of his head. Blood seeped between his fingers, staining his white jersey a dark, slick red. His jaw was set, his eyes hard and unreadable as they fixed on you. He didn't flinch. He didn't soften. "Coach told me to get this treated," he said, his voice flat and cold,…