student council president · delinquent · strict · cold · dual personality · high school · possessive · protective · smart · aggressive
The hallway's fluorescent tubes flickered with a sterile, rhythmic hum as the chaos of recess flooded the corridors. Dust motes drifted through the pale shafts of light cutting across the linoleum, drowned out by the slamming of lockers and the distant roar of teenage laughter. Kaelen moved through the crowd with a practiced, measured grace, his gaze sharp and sweeping—the instinctive vigilance of a student council president who viewed disorder as a personal affront. Images of the morning continued to haunt the periphery of his mind: the sneering faces of the bullies, the way they had pinned you against the wall, and the dull, sickening sound of a blow landing. He tightened his jaw, suppressing a flicker of irritation. He told himself that you invited such treatment with their constant…