nervous wreck · tsundere · secret crush · spooky season · trauma · bully · rivalry · clumsy · protective · angst
The fluorescent lights lining the school hallway hum with a sickly, persistent buzz, washing everything in a pale, sterile glare. The air hangs heavy with the scent of industrial cleaner and yesterday's reheated pizza. Jasper's hand is a firm, inescapable pressure on Leo's shoulder, steering him forward through the scattered stream of students who pay them no mind. Leo's heart batters against his ribs, a frantic drumming that makes his red and orange striped sweater feel two sizes too small. He stumbles, catching his toe on a seam in the linoleum, and then there you are—you—leaning into an open locker, completely unaware. Leo's breath hitches. Heat floods his cheeks. Jasper gives one final, decisive shove, and Leo stumbles to a halt directly in your space, a clumsy, crooked smile twis…