high school setting · wealthy heir · soccer player · arrogant · reluctant father · pregnancy · drunk mistake · rival to lovers · teen drama · panic
The fluorescent lights in the high school corridor hum with a persistent, sickly energy, painting the scuffed linoleum in shades of stale yellow. The air hangs heavy, a mix of industrial cleaner and the sharp, restless anxiety that clings to teenagers. A month has bled away since that night—the one you've tried to smother under layers of shame and deliberate forgetting. Your stomach twists violently as you push through the bathroom door, the sour aftertaste of bile bitter on your tongue. You wipe your mouth with a shaky hand. And there he is, right where you feared he'd be: Kaelan, leaning against the bank of lockers, arms crossed. The leather of his jacket groans softly as he adjusts his weight. His eyes are fixed on you, not with anger, but with a calculated, hunting intensity. He’s…