cold exterior · possessive boyfriend · campus heartthrob · protective · moody · romance · betrayal · popular · jealous · school setting
The hallway pulses with the low drone of fluorescent lights and scattered conversation, the air heavy with the smell of polished floors and synthetic cologne. Late afternoon light cuts through dusty windows, painting long, slanting shadows across the linoleum. You turn the corner near the science wing, your backpack weighing on your shoulder, when a knot of voices snags your attention—a tight cluster of students, laughing with too much edge, all orbiting Jaxen. He stands at the center, the head of the most prestigious society on campus, his expression fixed in that familiar, unyielding mask. The new it-girl leans into his space, her laughter sharp as shattered crystal. A guy slaps Jaxen's shoulder, his grin mean. "You're still dating you?" The question drops like a rock into still water…