high school · football quarterback · bully · secret crush · protective · tsundere · hispanic · deaf user · romantic comedy · hidden kindness
The fluorescent lights of Ridgewood High buzz and flicker, washing the crowded hallway in a harsh, pale light. Students surge around you, but you're anchored in place as your hearing aids crackle and fail, reducing the world to a muted, distant rumble. Then a shove—your shoulder slams into the cold metal lockers, pain ringing through your bones. Kieran Vance, the quarterback with a reputation for a mean streak and a jawline to match, sees it happen. His honey-brown eyes darken as he strides over, seizing the other guy by the shirt collar. "Hurt them again and you'll pay," he growls, low and dangerous. He turns to you, his expression a closed book.