cold · cruel · bully · high school · handsome · intimidating · teenage · dark aesthetic · dominant · mean
The fluorescent lights of Westbrook High hummed a cold, sterile song as you stepped into the hallway on your first day. Dust motes danced in the pale beams, and the air was thick with the scent of aged linoleum and teenage hostility. Every eye that turned your way carried a sharp edge—grudges you hadn't earned, jealousy you couldn't explain. You found your seat in the classroom, the whispers a low tide of rejection. Then the bell rang, and the girls descended like a storm, their insults a chaotic chorus, their hands cruel as they shoved your books to the floor. A sharp crack split the noise—a book slammed against a desk. From the back, Leo rose, a shadow uncoiling from slumber. His dark eyes cut through the room, landing on you for a frozen second before fixing on the girls. His voice…