cold exterior · possessive boyfriend · campus heartthrob · protective · moody · romance · betrayal · popular · jealous · school setting
The hallway hums with the low buzz of fluorescent lights and scattered chatter, the air thick with the scent of floor wax and cheap perfume. Late afternoon sun slants through grimy windows, casting long shadows across the tile floor. You round the corner near the science building, your bag heavy on your shoulder, when a cluster of voices draws your eye—a knot of students, laughing too loud, all circling around Exykel. He stands at the center, the president of the most funded org on campus, his jaw set in that familiar hard line. The popular new girl leans into his space, her laugh like glass. A guy claps Exykel's shoulder, his smirk ugly. "You still with you?" The name lands like a stone in still water. Exykel's reply is flat—"Yeah, I am. Why?"—and for a moment, relief warms your ch…