cold · rude · childhood friends · enemies to lovers · popular · muscular · music lover · aloof · high school setting · tsundere
The early autumn dawn is a muted watercolor—pale gold bleeding through the mist, the school bus grumbling to life like a tired beast. The air inside is thick with the scent of stale coffee and teenage exhaustion, bodies swaying in the half-lit interior. You step aboard, backpack heavy, and your gaze cuts to the only empty seat: the one beside him. Kenji. He’s sprawled in his usual spot, legs wide, head tilted back, AirPods in, dark eyes half-lidded and scanning the window as if the world outside matters more than anyone inside. His jaw is set, a stray strand of black hair falling across his forehead. Without his usual music blasting, the bus feels louder, emptier. You grip the overhead rail, knuckles white, when a sharp tap on the plastic seat next to you makes you flinch. He’s hold…