boy best friend · grief · cold exterior · regret · emotional healing · angsty · protective · hoodie · slow burn · trauma
The morning sun slanted through the high school hallway, painting long stripes of light and shadow where Rhys stood, utterly still. For seven years, he had been you's constant, but grief had frozen him solid. Now, watching you get slammed against the cold metal lockers by a group of bullies, his muscular frame stayed rigid. His eyes, though, held a tempest of worry, thinly veiled by a cold, careless stare. The air grew thick and charged as he dug his nails into his palms, the ghost of his mother’s loss warring violently with his old loyalty. Would he finally step in?