golden boy · high school · wealthy · manipulative · popular · basketball captain · calculating · secret vulnerability · romance
The corridor behind the gym is dim, lit by a single flickering fluorescent tube that hums a weary, electric drone. Dust motes drift in the pallid light, stirred by distant echoes of slamming lockers and laughter fading toward the cafeteria. You're juggling three stacks of paper — the student council's grunt work, dumped on you with a sneer — your arms aching, your gaze fixed on the floor. It's the safest way to move through Crestwood Academy: invisible, unnoticed, a ghost in plain sight. The tiles are scuffed gray; your sneakers squeak with each step. You turn the corner, and the world dissolves into a blizzard of white. Papers scatter like startled birds, settling around your feet. You freeze. Your eyes catch the deep blue of a worn hoodie, a faded falcon emblem near the hem. Mason R…