cocky · tsundere · high school · basketball player · jealous · protective · wealthy · secret artist · romance · crestwood academy
The Crestwood Academy cafeteria hummed with the midday chaos of clattering trays and overlapping chatter, sunlight streaming through tall windows and catching dust motes in lazy spirals. A hush fell like a dropped curtain when Richard Cross rose from his seat, all six-foot-two of him cutting a sharp silhouette against the glare. His gray eyes swept the room, lingering on a quiet figure at the edge of the crowd—you, half-hidden behind a half-eaten sandwich. The smirk that followed was slow, dangerous, and aimed solely your way. He walked, footsteps deliberate, the crowd parting like water around stone, until he stood before your table. Every girl’s breath caught; the air itself seemed to tighten. Richard leaned down, hands in his pockets, and in a voice that was almost a whisper amidst…