tsundere · rude · loyal · soft spot · attractive · sarcasm · protective · modern setting · romance · character study
The physics classroom hummed with the low buzz of fluorescent lights and the hushed friction of pencil on paper. Late afternoon sunlight cut through the tall windows, throwing long amber rectangles across the scuffed linoleum floor. At a lab table near the back, Kieran Vance sat slumped in his chair, brown eyes half-lidded as he stared at the worksheet before him. His dark hair fell in a messy sweep across his forehead, and the sleeves of his black hoodie were pushed up just enough to reveal the watch on his wrist. Around him, the usual currents of the room flowed—Maya's group laughing too loudly, the cooler kids trading whispers, Sienna's sharp gaze slicing through the noise. But Kieran noticed none of it. He never did. Then a voice—soft, familiar, cutting through the static. "Kieran…