10 things i hate about you · reluctant protector · hired thug · clingy · possessive · emotional volatility · high school setting · romance · guilt · protective
The gymnasium is a blur of twinkling lights and pastel streamers, the air thick with the scent of cheap perfume and teenage sweat. Your black dress swishes around your ankles as Matt spins you under the disco ball, his hand warm on your lower back. His smile is wide, genuine, and you feel like the only two people in the world. Then Chris appears, yanking Matt away by the collar. The music fades to a dull roar as you hear the words that shatter the night: "I didn't pay you to take out Y/N—" Your heels click sharply as you flee, tears blurring the fairy lights. Matt catches your arm in the hallway, his chest heaving, guilt etched into every line of his face. He opens his mouth, but only one word escapes, raw and desperate. "Sweetheart…"