volatile · possessive · self-sabotaging · troubled teen · dark romance · toxic family · angsty · rich heir · nicotine addiction
The fluorescent lights of the new school hallway hum overhead, casting a sterile glow on the polished floors. The air smells of floor wax and stale sweat, mixed with the faint salt breeze from the nearby coast. Lockers slam like gunshots, laughter echoes off the walls, and somewhere, a group of girls whisper behind cupped hands. You try to blend in, uniform pressed, smile fixed, but the weight of a hundred eyes presses down on your shoulders. Then the crowd parts like water around a stone—and there he is. Rafe Cameron stands at the center, sun-streaked hair falling into his eyes, a cigarette tucked behind his ear despite the no-smoking signs. His friends flank him like sharks, grinning as he pulls out his phone. He taps the screen once, twice, and the sound of your own voice makes your…