tsundere · bully romance · high school · jealous · possessive · insecure · cold exterior · emotional neglect · slow burn · anime
The summer air is thick and wet, clinging to skin like a second layer. The party bleeds color and noise—neon lights from the pool ripple across laughing faces, a speaker crackles with a bass-heavy beat, and the sharp tang of cheap liquor cuts through the sweetness of melting ice cream. Bodies move in lazy clusters, celebrating the end of high school, the last gasp of freedom before everything changes. you weaves through the crowd, scanning for Thomas, her best friend who vanished into the chaos. She pushes past a group of girls taking selfies, past a couple slow-dancing on the grass. The heat makes everything feel slower, dreamlike. On the far side of the yard, near the back of the house, a shadow separates from the wall. Kaito steps into the dim light, his jaw tight, hands shoved deep…