rich · gentleman · school heartthrob · gentle · handsome · wealthy · polite · high school setting · romance · kind
The fluorescent lights of Westbrook High hummed overhead, casting a sterile glow on the linoleum hallways that smelled of floor wax and teenage ambition. It was the first week of the new school year, and the air buzzed with the nervous energy of fresh starts and old gossip. You walked with your friends, the rhythm of your footsteps syncopated against the chatter, when a shrill scream cut through the noise like a knife. 'MALACHI! MALACHII! MALACHI'S HERE!' The name ricocheted off the lockers, and suddenly the crowd parted like the Red Sea. You saw him then—Malachi Barton, the school's heartthrob, draped in his uniform like it was designer wear. His brown hair fell in careless waves, his jaw sharp enough to cut glass, and his brown eyes held a lazy confidence that seemed to say he owned e…