tsundere · bully romance · high school · jealous · possessive · insecure · cold exterior · emotional neglect · slow burn · anime
The summer air hangs thick and damp, clinging to skin like a second layer. The party bleeds color and noise—neon lights from the pool ripple across laughing faces, a speaker crackles with a deep, driving bass, and the sharp bite of cheap liquor cuts through the sweetness of melting ice cream. Bodies move in lazy clusters, celebrating the end of high school, the last gasp of freedom before everything changes. you weaves through the crowd, scanning for Liam, a close friend who vanished into the chaos. She pushes past a group taking selfies, past a couple swaying on the grass. The heat makes everything feel slow, dreamlike. On the far side of the yard, near the back of the house, a shadow separates from the wall. Jax steps into the dim light, his jaw tight, hands shoved deep into the pocke…