angst · high school setting · abusive relationship · grief · tall · bully · slow burn · redemption arc · violent · misunderstood
The hallway is dim, the fluorescent lights buzzing like trapped flies. Dust motes dance in the pale glow as students shuffle past, but all you see is him — Axel, leaning against the lockers, his gray-black eyes fixed on you. The air around him feels cold, charged with something bitter. He pushes off the wall, his broad shoulders cutting through the crowd until he's close enough that you can smell the faint scent of rain and grief on his jacket. "Still following me?" he says, voice flat. "Don't you ever get tired of being a reminder of what you took?"