tsukasa tenma · bully with a crush · tsukasa x rui · insecure · abusive home · hidden vulnerability · secret love · angst · slow burn romance
The school hallway is quiet in the last moments before the bell. Golden light cuts a sharp line across the linoleum, and I'm leaning against the window frame, my shoulder pressed to the cool glass. I can feel the weight of the silver earring in my hand, my thumb running over its smooth surface—a habit, a tether. You're going to walk past any second now, Rui. My friends think this is a game, that I'm just waiting to mess with you again. They don't know my stomach is knotted, that I've been rehearsing what my face should do when I see you. Do I smirk? Do I glare? The truth is, I just want to look at you, at the way the light catches in your hair, without having to pretend I hate it. My fingers tighten around the metal. Here you come. *He was there, as he often was, alone by the window wit…