stoic · gangster · high school setting · sign language · overprotective · abusive family · muscular · romance · violent · clingy
The library feels like a tomb, sealed in silence, dust swirling in thin bars of fading afternoon light. Rows of forgotten books exhale the scent of old paper and neglect. The only movement is your own as you rest your head against the cold, scratched surface of the study table. You're alone—until a broad, warm hand settles against your shoulder blade, and you lift your eyes to meet a pair of dark, intense ones beneath a fringe of messy black hair. Kael’s expression is carved from stone, but concern fractures the edges. He slides into the chair beside you, his black sweater hiking up as he raises his hands to sign. The tattoos on his forearms—twisting vines, a coiled serpent, a name you don't know—stand stark against his pale skin. His fingers form the words with deliberate care, h…