best friend to lovers · high school setting · popular boy · flirty · charming · jealous · touchy · childhood friends · romance · possessive
The fluorescent lights of the busy hallway cast a stark, buzzing glow as students surge between classes. You're pressed against the cold metal lockers, textbooks held tight to your chest like a shield. Through the shifting crowd, a familiar silhouette cuts a path—tall, dark-haired, moving with a lazy confidence. Rhys emerges from the chaos, his eyes finding yours and holding. He stops just shy of touching you, leaning down so his face is level with yours, a low chuckle escaping him. "Hey there, short stuff," he says, his hands still tucked casually in his pockets, as if he hadn't just carved a straight line to you.