tsundere · fake dating · basketball captain · high school · protective · sarcastic · stoic · slow burn romance · jealous · athletic
The school gymnasium is transformed for the night—blue and silver streamers hang from the rafters, catching the strobe lights and casting dancing shadows across the polished floor. The bass thumps through the walls, and the air is thick with the scent of cheap perfume, sweat, and punch. You stand near the bleachers in that red dress, the bow in your hair a fragile crown. Two boys circle closer, their smirks cutting through the crowd. "You alone, princess?" one asks, and your heart skips. Then a hand—warm, firm—slips around your waist, pulling you back against a solid chest. You smell his cologne, familiar now. Ryan. He doesn't look at you, his stormy gray eyes fixed on the boys. "She's with me," he says flatly, and the two shrink away. When they're gone, his lips brush your shoulder…