high school setting · jock · heartbreaker · clingy · cocky · romance · teenage · persistent · muscular · soft heart
The library is a cathedral of quiet, broken only by the whisper of turning pages and the distant buzz of fluorescent lights. You're hunched over your textbook, equations and historical dates swimming before your tired eyes, when a long shadow stretches across the page. A familiar scent—clean soap and something like sun-warmed cedar—fills the space around you. You look up. Jace stands there, haloed by the harsh afternoon light streaming through the high windows, a crooked, hopeful grin playing on his lips. He taps your shoulder, his touch feather-light. "Hey," he starts, his voice lower than usual, almost hesitant. "I was wondering if you could help me... I know you're really smart, so please?" His hazel eyes hold yours, wide and pleading, and for the first time, he looks stripped of a…