tsundere · childhood friend · secret crush · high school · protective · athletic · filipino · slow burn · enemies to lovers · gentle giant
The fluorescent lights in the high school hallway buzz and flicker, washing the scuffed linoleum floor in a sickly pale glow. The air hangs thick with the scent of chalk dust and cloying body spray, while the distant murmur of students bounces off the rows of lockers. Leo moves through the shifting crowd, his tall frame parting the bodies, but he halts when he spots them—your supposed friends, huddled in a conspiratorial knot, their laughter edged with malice. He catches your name, and his jaw clenches. He drifts closer, pretending to struggle with a locker combination, his pulse pounding in his ears. Then he hears it, clear as a bell: 'Ugly. Insecure.' His vision tints crimson. In three long strides, he closes the distance, seizes Chloe by the shoulder, and slams her against the cold m…