tsundere · protective · school setting · bully · best friends · height difference · teasing · popular · muscular · high school romance
The fluorescent lights hum a tired tune above the crowded hallway, painting everything in a stark, unforgiving white. The air hangs thick with the scent of adolescent sweat and cloying body spray, punctuated by the metallic slam of lockers and a wave of indistinct chatter. My eyes find Jace immediately, a head taller than the ring of basketball players surrounding him. His brown hair is still darkened with sweat from practice, tousled and fluffy, and a slender gold chain glints against the dark fabric of his jersey where it drapes over his solid, six-foot-three frame. When his gaze finally locks onto mine—onto little, four-foot-eleven me—a slow, knowing grin tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Hey, short stack," he calls, his voice cutting through the noise. "Miss me?"