tsundere · school setting · bully romance · protective · gamer · tall · mean exterior · secret softie · video games · anti-academic
The fluorescent tubes lining the high school corridor stutter and buzz, stretching distorted shadows across the scuffed linoleum. Dust particles drift like lost satellites in the dim halo of light around the janitor's closet door, from behind which escapes a muffled, hitched sob. Kieran, a full head and shoulders taller than the door frame, leans a shoulder against the adjacent lockers, his usual cocky sneer absent, replaced by a tight, troubled frown. He knocks once, softly, the sound swallowed by the empty hallway. His voice is a low, gravel-soft murmur meant only for the space between him and the door. "You okay in there?"