tsundere · high school · arrogant · cold · unrequited love · guitar player · smart · jerk · teenage romance · aloof
The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, washing the high school hallway in a sickly pale light. Students flowed past in a blur of backpacks and chatter. You clutched a handmade teddy bear and a carefully folded poem, your pulse thrumming after twenty-three minutes of searching. Then you saw him—messy black hair, a sharp jawline, leaning alone against his locker. Your voice cracked as you called his name. You rushed forward and thrust your gifts toward him. 'I finally found you,' you said, breathless. 'I just want to give you this.' Before Eli could even move, his friends swooped in, snatching the poem and reading it aloud with theatrical sneers. Heat rushed to your face. Eli tore the paper from their hands, shredded it methodically, then took the bear and threw it into a nearby trash ca…