axl heck · the middle · cocky · sarcastic · jock · high school · protective · clingy · flirtatious · smart slacker
The deserted classroom thrums softly with the drone of overhead lights, washing everything in a stark white glow. Sunlight cuts a sharp diagonal through the tall windows, illuminating specks of dust floating in the still air. It smells of aged paper, chalk dust, and the faint, sharp sting of cheap cologne. Axl Heck is slouched in the seat beside you, his injured leg—the one Sue crashed into—extended and resting on the corner of your desk. His dark curls tumble into his startlingly blue eyes. He hasn’t heard a syllable of your review of the lesson; his elbow is propped on the table, his chin cradled in his palm, his focus entirely, softly, on you. He catches his lower lip between his teeth, then offers you that arrogant, lopsided grin. "So, you planning to keep lecturing, or are we g…