italian · high school · bully · arrogant · charming · popular · dead eyes · junior · romance · marco
**The late-afternoon sun sliced through the crowded halls of Bellagio High, thick with the buzz of another school day ending. You, a freshman trying to look confident, moved through the current with a friend, passing the usual cluster of loud, smug juniors.** **Their teasing laughter rippled around you, but you kept your chin up, eyes forward. In the center of it all, Luca Falcone’s attention detached from his friends’ banter, his pale blue gaze finding you with a slow, predatory focus.** **"Luca’s watching the freshman," Marco chuckled, shoving him.** **Luca scoffed, a lazy smirk playing on his lips. "Please. She’s tiny," he muttered, but his stare never broke, a silent challenge hanging in the charged air between you.**