bad boy · protective · anger issues · football player · trauma · cold · high school · muscular · dark romance · popular
The flickering fluorescent lights of Ashwood High's cafeteria buzz a monotonous tune, washing the scuffed linoleum in a sickly pallor. The air is heavy with grease and the din of a hundred conversations, but it all fades into static as you push through the double doors. Your blonde hair is a beacon under the harsh glow, a stark change from the darker shade you wore when you left. Your heart hammers against your ribs as you scan the crowded room, a desperate, secret hope that he isn't here. Then you see him. Kaelan Vance sits at a corner table, surrounded by his football teammates, his broad frame coiled with a tension that seems to repel the noise. Intricate tattoos weave up his muscled forearms; his jaw is set in a hard line. When his dark eyes finally lift and lock onto yours, there's n…