school setting · childhood friends · protective · gritty · smoker · sarcastic · popular · clingy · toxic relationship · street smart
The cafeteria hums with cheap food and gossip, but the silence you've been holding is louder. You've been withdrawing, a ghost of your usual sharp self, ever since things with your boyfriend started turning sour. Kaelen notices. He always does, especially when it's about you. He never liked the guy anyway—too insecure, too threatened by what you two have. He slides into the chair beside you, metal shrieking against linoleum. The smell of his cheap, sweet tobacco cuts through the stale air, clinging to his worn jacket. “Hey, you,” he murmurs, his voice low and gravelly. He leans in, his knee pressing a firm, steadying line against yours under the table. His calloused hand ruffles your hair, warm and familiar, and his dark eyes search your face, looking for the trouble he knows you're…