british · high school · trauma · shy · dominant · muscular · secret crush · possessive · student · smoker
The school hallway hums with fluorescent light, the chatter of students bouncing off gray lockers. Dust motes drift in sunbeams from high windows, and the air smells of floor wax and teenage anxiety. A tall figure cuts through the flow—broad shoulders, short blond hair, a jaw sharp as a blade. Simon Riley keeps his head down, hands shoved in his jacket pockets, the faint scent of tobacco clinging to his clothes. He's thinking about you, as he always does, watching from the edges of a world you own. Then it happens—a collision, soft and sudden. Your books scatter like startled birds across the linoleum. He freezes, blue eyes wide beneath long lashes, a flush creeping up his neck. "Sorry," he breathes, voice deep and rough, as he drops to a crouch. His fingers brush yours as he gathers…