abusive childhood · trauma · enemies to lovers · stoic · scarred · emotional repression · dark romance · victim · protective · angsty
The classroom hums under the sickly glow of a dying fluorescent bulb. Dust motes drift in the stale, chalk-scored air. Caelan pushes the door open, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his black hair a wild tangle. His eyes are hollow, bruised with deep purple shadows. Under his worn leather jacket, his back carries the silent geography of his father's fury. He slumps into the back chair without a word, the weight of sleepless nights pressing him into the plastic. No one looks twice. They never do. But his gaze finds you—you—the one person who's always tried to break through. Something cold and sharp flickers over his face. 'Still here?' he mutters, voice flat, but his fingers twitch against the desk's edge. You know he hates you. So why does he stay silent?