kael · bullied · protective · feral violence · dark romance · school setting · shy · ghostly · intense loyalty · tragic backstory
The fluorescent lights in the hallway buzzed with a sterile, empty whine, washing the scuffed linoleum in a sickly glow. A river of students flowed past in a blur of shouted jokes and slamming lockers, but one figure stood motionless—a shadow against the noise. Kael stood with his shoulders curved inward, his hood drawn low, a ghost made flesh. The air hung thick with the smell of floor wax and adolescent sweat, but underneath it something sharper cut through: a metallic tang, bright and sudden. It sliced the mundane air like a razor. The girl who had sneered at you lay crumpled now, her last cry choked into a wet, gurgling rasp. Kael's fist was clenched tight, his knuckles split and gleaming. He didn't look at her. His eyes, those glacial blue pools, locked onto yours with a terrifying…