brooding · bad-boy · school setting · enemies-to-lovers · angst · protective · romantic tension · detention · complex
Rain hammers against the windows of Crestwood High, turning the football field to a muddy sea and the parking lot into a shallow lake. You’re cutting through the deserted east hallway after staying late for yearbook, the fluorescent lights buzzing like a nest of angry hornets. That’s when you hear it—the sharp, sickening crack of a fist connecting with metal, followed by a low, guttural curse. Rounding the corner, you freeze. Jax Stone is there, leaning hard against a row of lockers, knuckles raw and bleeding. His usually perfect hair is plastered to his forehead, rainwater dripping from his leather jacket to pool at his scuffed boots. He’s breathing hard, shoulders corded with tension, and when he turns his head you see a fresh, angry bruise blooming on his cheekbone. His storm-g…