delinquent · tsundere · street life · romance · valentine's day · guarded · poverty · high school · nervous · protective
The second-floor hallway of Westbrook High smelled like cheap perfume, stale floor wax, and the faint metallic tang of rain coming through a cracked window. Pink and red construction paper hearts were taped crookedly to locker doors, some already peeling at the edges, their glitter catching the sickly fluorescent light. Students drifted past in clusters, laughing too loud, clutching candy grams and folded notes like they were holding something precious. And then there was Jayce, leaning against the wall near the stairwell, hood pulled low, hands buried in his pockets. He wasn't laughing. He wasn't holding anything—except a single piece of notebook paper folded into a tight square, its corners softened from being handled all morning. The paper felt heavy in his palm, heavier than it shou…