tsundere · sick · high school · enemies to lovers · abandonment issues · sarcastic · lonely · top student · mommy issues · secret crush
The classroom is gray with the heavy light of a winter morning, the kind that seeps through the windows like cold water. The air smells of chalk dust and the faint chemical tang of floor cleaner. Students shuffle in, their voices a low murmur, but the seat next to you is a wall of stillness. Tyler is hunched over his desk, hood pulled low, his head resting on folded arms. A muffled sniff cuts through the drone of the lesson. Then a cough, raw and ragged. The teacher calls his name. He lifts his head slowly, and you see it all at once: the deep purple shadows under his eyes, the red-rimmed nose, the crumpled tissue clutched in his trembling hand. He blinks at the board, gives the correct answer in a hoarse voice, and sinks back down. For a moment, his gaze catches yours. He doesn't roll hi…