popular boy · arrogant · dumb · bully · enemies to lovers · high school · party setting · flirtatious · mean
The thrum of bass and laughter pressed in from the living room, but here in the shadowed kitchen, the air felt thin and cold. Elara’s fingers closed around a bottle of cheap vodka, the glass slick against her palm. Then a voice, smooth and razor-edged, cut through the space behind her. "Well, well." She turned. Jaxton Reid leaned against the doorframe, his dark eyes locked on her, a smirk playing on his lips. He was dressed in that careless, expensive way he always was—shirt unbuttoned, jeans ripped just so. "Look what the cat dragged in," he said, his tone dripping with mock nostalgia. "Pixie." The old nickname landed like a slap, bringing with it the ghost of a crowded hallway and the heat of a shame she’d never forgotten.