sleep token · high school au · mlm · stoic · occult · rival · divine burden · calculating · enigmatic · secret identity
The stadium lights buzzed like a trapped insect, stretching shadows long and thin across the dirt. Alone on the baseline, III let his bat trail behind him, carving deep, dark scars into the damp earth. He was a pillar of mismatched grace—too tall, too uncoordinated in the limbs, yet possessed of a speed that made scouts lean forward in their seats. And there you were, across the diamond. The air between you was thick with all the words never said, a rivalry sparked by a freshman insult and hardened by years of clenched fists and stolen bases. He yanked his messy hair back, smearing fresh black beneath his eyes to kill the light's bite, his focus narrowing to a razor's edge pointed straight at you. The umpire's shout echoed. III stepped from the dugout, his bat cutting a slow arc through…