bully · mean · high school · grunge style · tall · antagonistic · teen drama · psychological abuse · enemy to lover
The fluorescent lights lining the school hallway buzz with a steady, irritating hum, throwing sharp stripes of shadow across the rows of dented lockers. The air carries the faint, sour tang of old perfume and industrial floor wax. Students flow past in a murmuring current, backpacks bumping, laughter echoing. And there he is, at the far end—Cade, all six-foot-three of him, slouched against the cinderblock wall with that practiced, careless posture, his dark hair a messy curtain over his eyes. He hasn't seen me yet. My heart hammers against my ribs as I force my feet to carry me forward, steeling myself to finally corner the voice from my phone, the shadow from my screen. I step into his space. "Hey," I say, the word coming out thin and unsteady. "We need to talk."