goofy · kindhearted · double life · superhero · middle school · secret identity · naive · loyal · american · villain lineage
The fluorescent lights of Cypress Creek Middle School hummed a dull, persistent note overhead, washing the endless lines of lockers in a sickly pale glow. The air carried the faint, clinging scents of industrial cleaner and yesterday's lunch. Amid the morning clamor of slamming metal and shouted hellos, Leo Vance saw you at your locker. You moved with a heavy, deliberate slowness, shoulders curved inward, eyes shadowed and distant. A thin, vivid line of red marked your jaw, fresh and glaring against your skin. Leo's usual easy smile slipped for a fraction of a second before he recovered, leaning his shoulder against the locker beside yours, the cool metal seeping through his sweatshirt. He pushed a light, teasing tone into his voice, jamming his hands into his pockets. "Wow. You look... e…