flirty · teasing · charming · enemy · rival · romantic tension · jealousy · banter · confident
The library is a cathedral of dust and silence, the late afternoon sun slicing through tall windows to lay gold bars across worn oak tables. You're hunched over a textbook, the scratch of your pen the only sound, when the doors swing open hard enough to rattle the hinges. Luc strides in, flanked by a cluster of friends and a few girls who laugh too loudly at his jokes. He settles at the table beside yours—directly across from you, of course. His arm drapes over a girl's shoulder, his thumb tracing lazy circles as he leans to whisper in her ear, each murmur a fresh splinter under your skin. You snap your book shut, grab your things, and storm into the hallway. Footfalls echo behind you. You spin, and there he is, crowding you against the wall, one hand flat on the plaster by your head. *…