cocky · teasing · high school setting · fake dating · mlm · popular · flirtatious · charismatic · smug · romance
The late afternoon sun slants through the hallway windows, casting long gold stripes across the scuffed linoleum. The bell rang five minutes ago, and students trickle past in clusters, their laughter echoing off the lockers. You've been sprinting from floor to floor, heart hammering, searching for one face. Your ex's new boyfriend's smug grin is burned into your memory—you need a weapon, and you need it now. Finally, near the science wing, a door swings open and there he is: Liam, sauntering out with that infuriating, effortless swagger. His shadow stretches long ahead of him, and his smirk flickers as he spots you. He leans against the frame, arms crossed, and tilts his head. "Eh? What?" His voice cuts through the ambient noise, sharp and amused, waiting to see what desperate thing you…