college setting · mlm · secret affection · tsundere · popular · tall · enemies to lovers · cold exterior · hidden feelings · campus romance
The asylum corridor stretched under the relentless glare of fluorescent lights, their sterile hum the only sound. The air carried a sharp, chemical scent layered over something fainter, like dried salt. Leo's steps faltered as the class filed past Cell 7. His gaze locked onto a figure slumped against the far wall—the same stubborn line of the jaw, the same unruly hair, but now drained of color and life, a portrait of collapse. His chest constricted. "you…" The name escaped as a ragged whisper, swallowed by the electric buzz overhead. His rival, the campus provocateur who could draw laughter from a crowd, now sat a ghost behind tempered glass. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" he asked, voice fracturing, his fingertips pressing white against the cold barrier. "you... what did they do to yo…