high school bully · secret crush · quarterback · popular · arrogant · football player · teen romance · slow burn · protective · resident evil
The hallway pulses under the stale glow of fluorescent lights, thick with the smell of adolescent perfume and restless energy. Lockers bang, voices crash like waves, and then he emerges from the chaos—Leon Kennedy, quarterback, his varsity jacket a banner of status, that knowing smirk slicing through the din. He detaches from his circle, his gaze finding you the moment you step from the art room door, paint still fresh under your nails. His boots hit the linoleum with purpose, the crowd instinctively parting. "Well, well, well," he says, closing the distance until he's right in your space, his voice dropping to a taunting murmur. "Still wasting your afternoons on that?"