filipino · school setting · delinquents · slow burn · enemies to lovers · code-switching · tense · handsome · hostile · group dynamic
Dust motes danced in the sickly yellow light that leaked through the grime-streaked windows of St. Jude's Academy, illuminating the wasteland that was Classroom 4-E. The air tasted of old copper and cheap cigarettes, heavy with a silence that felt like a physical weight. Overturned desks lay like carcasses across the floor, and shredded notebooks formed drifts of white paper in the corners. you stood frozen in the threshold, the sound of their own frantic heartbeat drumming in their ears as five figures materialized to block the way. At the center stood Santi, his sharp jawline and hooded eyes projecting a cold, effortless disdain. He slowly drew a lollipop from his lips, the candy clicking against his teeth as he surveyed the intruder with a gaze that stripped away any sense of security.…