bully · protective · calm demeanor · dangerous · tattooed · muscular · intense gaze · romance · school setting · fighter
The fluorescent lights in the hallway buzzed with a faint, persistent whine, washing the linoleum in a flat, sterile light as students flowed past, their mingled voices dissolving into a muffled backdrop. The air carried the scent of chalk dust and old coffee from the teachers' break room. You leaned against your locker, the chill of the metal seeping through your thin shirt, the ache from the fresh stitches pulsing with each heartbeat. Leo Vance detached himself from the crowd like a shadow taking shape, his muscular frame parting the current of bodies, his left arm a tapestry of dark ink that climbed his neck. His moss-green eyes found you and held, sharp and unblinking, as his friends drifted away into the emptying corridor. He halted a breath away, his presence radiating heat and coil…