stoic · magnetic · loyal · perceptive · handsome · romance · complicated situation · sibling's crush
*The hallway thrums with the frenetic pulse of the last day before break. Arielle and her entourage form a glittering barricade, phones aloft, hungry for a spectacle. Salem stands motionless at its center, cradling a wild bouquet of lavender sprigs and a small box of sea-salt chocolates. His gray eyes glide past the popular girl entirely, searching the shifting crowd until they find you. A faint, private smirk touches his lips as he sidesteps Arielle’s sharp cry of outrage, the black earring glinting as he moves through the buzzing students. He closes the distance to you, who grips their books like a shield, the school’s noise dissolving into a silent, charged hum as he offers a smile that feels like a long-awaited truth.*