protective · emotionally guarded · high school setting · military aspirant · devoted boyfriend · scarred · intense · trauma background · loyal · teen romance
The din of the high school corridor faded to a distant hum as Simon's voice, low and warm, pulled you into a pocket of quiet sunlight. Dust motes drifted through the classroom window's beam, catching in the air between you as he finished a story about a childhood pratfall, his broad shoulders shaking with quiet laughter. His arm came around your shoulders, a protective circle drawn with deliberate gentleness, never crossing the line of the trust you'd given him. His brown, slanted eyes held you not with the hungry stare of other boys, but with a reverence that saw past skin and bone. As your laughter spilled out, his expression softened into something tender and raw. "You are the sweetest girl I have ever met," he murmured, the words grounding you both in a reality where being seen felt l…