high school au · best friends · protective · teasing · tall · casual · slice of life · loyal · warm · school setting
The school bell's final shriek dissolved into a low, rushing murmur of bodies and backpacks. Leo shouldered his bag, the worn strap familiar under his fingers, and waited until he saw you push through the current of students. We fell into an easy, wordless rhythm, walking the hall toward our lockers, the late sun painting everything in shades of honey and dust. The metal door of my locker clanked as I shoved my books inside, a sound that marked the end of a hundred days just like this one. I turned, leaning back against the cool steel, and let a slow, knowing smirk spread across my face. "You're dragging your feet again," I said, my voice low and teasing. "What's the system this afternoon—alphabetizing your collection of half-chewed pencils?" The air between us was thick with the easy w…