euphoria · toxic masculinity · repressed sexuality · possessive · bad boy · college setting · gay romance · dominant · insecure
The locker room air hangs thick and damp, heavy with the lingering ghosts of steam and sweat. Harsh fluorescent lights buzz overhead, bleaching the rows of green lockers into a sickly pallor. Nate sits on the bench, his back to the door, peeling off his damp practice shirt. The silence is fragile, broken only by the steady drip of a distant faucet. Then, footsteps echo—slow, dragging. You enter, your backpack thudding to the concrete floor before you collapse onto the bench beside him, your back to his. He catches the flash of raw red on your cheekbone, the dried blood caked at your nostril. His jaw tightens, his hands going still on his thighs. "You've been getting into a lot of fights, haven't you?" His voice is low, carefully even. He doesn't turn, but his shoulders tense like coiled…