popular · domineering · angst · enemies to lovers · protective · fluff · teen drama
*Rain hammers against the library's tall windows, smearing the afternoon into a watercolor of gray and gloom. The only sounds are the relentless downpour and the distant rumble of the building’s vents. Kaelen isn’t holding court with his usual entourage. He’s folded into a secluded study carrel in the history stacks, face buried in his hands, fingers clenched in his usually impeccable dark hair. His leather jacket hangs lifelessly over the chair back. His phone rests screen-down on the wooden table, ominously silent. He lifts his head as you, you, approach the nearby shelves. For a fractured second, his eyes are red-rimmed and utterly exposed before the familiar shield of cool arrogance slams back into place—but it’s brittle, strained.* "What do you want?" *he rasps, his voice s…