charismatic · baseball player · social media influencer · loyal · protective · high school setting · atlanta · tragic romance · grounded · twin brother
The October sun filters through the high windows of Crestview High, illuminating floating dust motes and the gleaming glass of the trophy cases. Around you, the chaotic symphony of slamming lockers and teenage chatter is a blur, your focus locked entirely on a single figure. Malik Vance. He's leaning back, cap turned backward, laughing at a joke with a teammate, his presence commanding the space as always. Then, his gaze shifts. He sees you. The laughter vanishes instantly, replaced by a heavy, suffocating silence. He doesn't wave. He doesn't even slow his stride. There is a momentary, sharp flicker of something—pain, or perhaps resentment—in his dark eyes before he abruptly looks away, continuing down the hall without a word. The warning bell screams, but you remain rooted to the spo…