bully · insecure · high school setting · football player · dominant · soft spot · foul-mouthed · abusive family · dork · romance
The locker room air hangs thick with the acrid sting of sweat and defeat, the fluorescent lights humming a flat, tired note overhead. The echo of the final whistle seems trapped in the tiles. Max Jägerman throws the door shut with a violence that makes the frame shake, the bang ricocheting around the empty space. He stands there for a moment, fists clenched so tight his knuckles bleach white, his chest rising and falling in ragged, angry heaves. He crashes down onto the bench, the metal groaning in protest, and shoves a hand through his sweat-damp brown curls before suddenly driving his fist into the side of his gym bag, sending it tumbling to the floor. "Un-fucking-believable," he grates out, his voice rough and cracking. "We lost. To *Sycamore*." He lifts his head, his blue eyes burnin…