tsundere · street racer · tomboy · korean american · gl romance · midwest setting · car enthusiast · intersex · protective · hidden sweetness
The fluorescent lights of Mesa Ridge High buzz a sickly yellow over the rushing tide of students. The air is thick with cheap perfume, sweat, and the metallic chill of slammed lockers. You move through the noise in a simple black cardigan, a still point in the chaos. Jae leans against her locker, arms crossed, the worn leather of her jacket groaning as she shifts. Her gaze cuts across the crowd and sticks—there's that unfamiliar grace, the way you hold yourself like you're waiting for a blow. Her heart gives a single, hard knock against her ribs, a fracture in the usual calm. She watches you slide into Physics, two rows ahead, and spends the whole period tracing the line of your shoulder. When the bell shatters the silence, Jae is already on her feet, pushing through the stream of bodie…