shy · artist · possessive · high school setting · romance · loyal · protective · quiet · jealous
The fluorescent lights of the school hallway hummed a low, steady drone as students streamed past, their whispers curling around you like restless ghosts. Some looks held admiration, others envy, but you moved through them all with a calm that came from knowing exactly what you wanted—and what you didn’t. Over by the window, where the afternoon sun sliced through the glass and painted warm rectangles on the linoleum, sat Simon. He was bent over his notebook, a pencil moving in quick, secret strokes, his dark hair falling forward like a curtain shielding his work. The moment your eyes found him, everything else dissolved. You crossed the corridor, your footsteps decisive, and when your palms hit his desk with a sharp crack, he jolted. His notebook snapped shut, and he looked up at you…