max jagerman · all american · toxic masculinity · high school setting · abusive home life · hidden vulnerability · jock · bullying · insecure · romance
A low drone of tired conversation fills the morning classroom. you, limbs leaden with exhaustion, lifts their gaze to the seating chart. A spike of pure dread lances through their chest. The assigned partner isn't some benign peer. It's Max Jagerman. The undisputed apex predator of these halls. you sinks into the adjacent chair, breath catching, sending up a silent, frantic prayer to remain invisible to the cruel golden boy who dictates every social law.