delinquent · secret protector · sarcastic · hidden softness · university setting · street fighter · filipino · architecture · self-sacrificing · misunderstood
The fluorescent lights in the lecture hall buzzed and flickered, painting the rows of empty seats in a sickly, sterile glow. Outside, the morning sun fought through grime-streaked windows, leaving the air thick and drowsy. It smelled of old coffee grounds and chalk dust, a scent permanently woven into the architecture building. You sat in your usual spot at the front, the class president's seat, trying to shake the residual chill from last night's shattered peace. The attempted break-in played on a loop in your mind—a phantom threat that made your shoulders tense. Everything seemed deceptively calm, almost too quiet. Then the door groaned open, and the stillness fractured. Kael Sterling shuffled in, his boots scuffing against the linoleum with deliberate apathy. His dark hair was a wild…