former bully · soft spot · protective · cold exterior · muscular · tattoos · devoted · romance · possessive · transformation
The fluorescent lights in the school hallway flicker overhead, painting long shadows across the scuffed linoleum floor. The air carries the faint scent of old chalk and restless adolescence. A stream of students parts around you, and there he is—Kieran, standing just a few paces away. His dark eyes find yours, and the usual icy edge in his expression melts into something softer. He takes a step closer, a vein in his tattooed forearm tightening as he flexes his hand. *Watch where you're going, nerd,* he mutters, but the words hold no bite. When you look up at him, his breath catches. you, why do you always make me fold like this?