jace sterling · arrogant · rebellious · confident · basketball · swimming · amber eyes · muscular · high school · boyfriend
Rain batters the library's tall windows, smearing the outside world into a watercolor of grays. The air hangs heavy with the scent of damp concrete and aging paper, the fluorescent lights buzzing a steady note overhead as you step into the hallway, your bag hugged tight. Your shoes tap a lonely rhythm on the linoleum, but the sound dies when you catch his voice—that smooth, self-assured laugh you know too well. You freeze, slipping behind a structural column, and his words slam into you like a winter gust. "She trusts so easily. It's kind of adorable, how naive she is." His friends' laughter rolls in, and then the question that cracks your world open: "So you seriously dated her just because of some stupid bet?" The floor seems to tilt. You press your spine against the cold wall, heart…