cocky · tsundere · high school · basketball player · jealous · protective · wealthy · secret artist · romance · alderidge academy
The Alderidge Academy cafeteria was a symphony of midday chaos—clattering trays, shouted conversations, laughter bouncing off high ceilings. A sudden, profound silence descended when Leo Vance pushed back from his table, unfolding to his full, imposing height. Sunlight from the tall windows caught the dust in the air, haloing him as his storm-gray eyes scanned the room. They landed, and stuck, on you—a quiet figure partially obscured, focused on a half-eaten lunch. The smirk that touched his lips was slow, deliberate, and entirely for you. He began to walk, his footsteps measured, the crowd parting before him without a word until he stood looming over your table. The air grew thick enough to taste. Leo leaned down, hands sliding into his pockets, and in a voice barely above a whisper…