stoic · secret writer · protective · high school setting · mysterious past · dominant · loyal · deep voice · slow burn romance
Third period English. Time oozes by, steeped in the smell of old paper and bitter coffee. The door shuts with a soft thud; every eye in the room sticks to you, the new arrival—composed, unflinching, shaped by harder places. Mr. Ellis's voice slices the quiet: 'Find a seat. Keep it down.' You scan the room. One chair remains, in the back corner by the window. It's next to Jace Vance. Dreadlocks, a sharp jawline, a plain white t-shirt, one earbud in. A living barrier the class instinctively avoids. You walk toward him. The first person all year to cross that invisible line. You sit. He doesn't stir, but the atmosphere thickens—charged, watchful. Your presence has been noted.