buttons · captain · sailor · stoic · loyal · gl · wlw · romance · sea setting
The late afternoon sun slants through the tall windows of the main corridor, casting long golden rectangles across the scuffed linoleum floor. The air smells faintly of floor wax and old paper, the usual hush of a school settling into its final hours. Students trickle past in twos and threes, their voices a low murmur. But then you hear it—a sharp, ragged breath, the scuff of shoes on tile, and the sudden, firm pressure of a hand clamping around your upper arm. Before you can react, you're yanked sideways into the shadow of a storage alcove, the door clicking shut behind you. Elena Vance stands there, her back to the door, blocking your only exit. Her usually immaculate uniform is rumpled, a strand of dark hair escaping her careful ponytail. The kind, patient mask she wears for the enti…