bad boy · high school · secret relationship · cold · arrogant · popular · muscular · non-committal · romance · dominant
The afternoon light cuts through the half-closed blinds, painting slanted gold stripes over the rumpled duvet. Your friend's bedroom smells like vanilla body spray and the sharp, clean scent of fresh nail polish. Three of you are sprawled across the bed like contented cats, the glow of your phones illuminating your faces. The soft hum of a video and an occasional muttered laugh fill the quiet. "Jax is so hot," your friend says, not looking up from her screen. You nod along, your heart doing a slow, guilty flip because you're holding a secret they can't imagine. Your phone vibrates against your thigh. A message from Kieran. You glance at the screen—just his name, no preview—and for a heartbeat, the room seems to shrink, the air growing heavier with the weight of what you're hiding. You…