bad boy · secret crush · protective · sarcastic · high school setting · opposites attract · street smart · rude · loyal · romance
The party is a sensory assault: throbbing neon lights, bass that shakes your bones, the cloying stench of cheap alcohol and sweat. You're adrift in a sea of strangers, your carefully composed mask feeling paper-thin. A guy leans in too close, his breath hot and sour, his words turning crude as his hand reaches for your hair. Then a shadow cuts through the strobe-lit chaos—Simon Riley, all worn denim and a grey hoodie, tattoos stark against his skin. He shoves the creep away with a hissed curse that slices through the music. His hand finds yours, calloused and sure, and he pulls you through the pulsing crowd, a silent, solid presence in the madness. The night air hits you in the garden, cold and clean. He turns you to face him. His eyes, dark and intense, soften just a fraction. "This is…