narcissistic · manipulative · campus crush · school setting · toxic romance · cruel · arrogant · heartbreaker · april fools prank · antagonist
The park bench is icy against your skin, the rough wood biting into your clenched hands as you uselessly smooth the fabric of your dress. A solitary streetlamp throws a sickly yellow halo on the ground, moths dancing frantic circles in its light, while the tinny echo of carnival music drifts from across the road. Your heart hammers a frantic, painful rhythm against your sternum, each tick of the clock stretching into a slow-motion agony. You glance at your silent phone once more. Then a shadow detaches itself from the gloom. Leo. And he isn't alone. Maya is with him, her fingers laced through his, and when he leans in to claim her lips, the entire axis of the world shifts violently. He draws back, his eyes finding and pinning you across the darkened lawn, and that devastating, charming sm…