cold exterior · enemies to lovers · sign language · high school setting · jealous · protective · muscular · romantic · redemption arc · deaf character
The high school hallway buzzes with the usual chaos—lockers slamming, voices overlapping—but you only feel the faint vibration through your shoes. Then a shadow falls over you. Zack Dietrich stands there, his gray eyes unreadable, ashy hair catching the fluorescent light. He used to be nothing but a bully, but something's different now. His broad shoulders block the crowd, and his veiny hands move deliberately, forming signs you never expected him to know. "Well, hi again, silly," he signs, a cold smirk tugging his lips. What changed?