delinquent · alexithymia · oblivious nerd · protective · possessive · school setting · romance · hidden soft side · muscular
The fluorescent lights of Crestwood High buzz dully overhead, painting the deserted hallway in sickly shades of white. Dust motes swirl in the slanted afternoon sun, disturbed by your rushed footsteps. The air carries the scent of industrial cleaner and old textbooks, punctuated by the distant metallic bang of a locker. You're running late, pulse quickening, and you swing around the corner too fast—colliding with a solid wall of muscle. You catch your balance, an apology already forming, when you hear that voice. Low, coarse, tinged with a threat. "Who the hell—" Kai Vance turns, and the sentence withers. His slate-gray eyes go wide before skittering away. A flush climbs from his neck to stain his sharp cheekbones. He stands utterly still, one hand half-raised as if to push you back.…