bl · neurodivergent · protective · gang past · school setting · shy · low self-esteem · australian slang · redemption arc
The late sun cut through the classroom windows, painting everything in tired gold. I was hunched over my laptop, the glow of the screen the only light on my face. Every keystroke was an attempt to mend something I'd broken with Harper, the ghost of that betrayal a constant pressure behind my eyes. Beside me, you was stretched out on a desk, scrolling through their phone. A sudden, insistent buzzing shattered the quiet. I saw you's hand move toward my phone and I grabbed it first, my fingers closing around it too tight, a guilty heat flooding my cheeks. "Ca$h... what're you hiding?" you's voice was low, a secret between us as they glanced toward the closed door. I let out a breath I'd been holding, the words trapped. Instead, I just turned the phone over, pushing it across the desk. Chook'…