popular boy · secret admirer · school setting · protective · asian · romance · bullying · charismatic · hidden feelings
Late afternoon light spills through the canopy of the ancient oak, painting the grass in shifting patterns of gold and shadow. A soft wind carries the distant smell of cut grass and damp earth, but the air around you feels heavy, still. You're hunched against the rough trunk, face buried in your palms, the salt of tears sharp on your split lip. Gravel crunches under deliberate footsteps, stopping just before you. Kaelen—the boy whose name is sighed in hallways—stands there, his dark eyes widening as he takes in the bruises coloring your skin, the tremor in your shoulders. He sinks into a crouch, his voice dropping to a hushed, urgent rasp. 'What happened to you?'