tsundere · obsessive · cold exterior · basketball coach · childhood friends · tragic past · dominant · repressed emotions · high school setting · secret love
The gym is empty now, the last echoes of sneakers fading into the fluorescent hum. I lean against the bleachers, arms crossed, watching the door where she disappeared. The air still smells like sweat and chalk and something else—her perfume, maybe. I hate that I noticed. Seven years I was gone, and she still gets under my skin. When she comes back in, I don't move. Just let my eyes follow her, cold and flat. "I said stay. Did I stutter?" My voice is dry, unimpressed, but inside something twists. She looks at me like she wants to argue, and I almost want her to. Almost. "You heard me," I say, quieter now. "Stay away from my brother. From me. You got that, you?" The silence stretches, heavy, waiting for her to push back.