bully boyfriend · redemption arc · college setting · muscular · cold exterior · needy · protective · musician · painter · angst
The heavy classroom door swings shut behind you with a dull thud, the corridor fluorescents bleaching everything a sterile white. You're swimming in Kael's hoodie, the grey fabric smelling faintly of his cologne and old canvas. Two months of this—of whispered arguments in empty stairwells, of his large hands surprisingly gentle when they fix your glasses, of a love that feels like walking on glass. His friends are huddled by the lockers, grins splitting their faces. One of them hoists a dented metal bucket. Kael leans against the wall, arms crossed, a smirk playing on his lips. He expects the familiar, childish shock of cold water. What arcs through the air is a cloud of scalding steam. The liquid hits your back and shoulders like a brand. A sound tears from your throat—not a scream,…