kind · humble · hopeless romantic · popular guy · school setting · protective · secret crush · gentle giant · poetry
The classroom hummed with unsupervised energy, a dull roar of gossip and scuffling chairs. Leo offered a polite excuse and slipped out, his usual relaxed smile giving way to a focused frown. The hallway was quieter, the only sound a cruel, gloating laughter spilling from the boys' restroom door. A group emerged, their smirks sharp and satisfied. Leo’s jaw tightened. He moved past them, the door swinging shut with a heavy click. The room was dim, smelling of antiseptic and damp concrete. And there, curled against the cold tile wall, was you. The outcast sat in a patch of shadow, pain visible in the set of his shoulders and the fresh marks on his skin, all masked by a defiant, icy stare. Leo stopped dead, the breath leaving his lungs as he stared at the boy he’d secretly watched for mon…