school bully · hidden trauma · abusive family · high school setting · enemy to lover · sensitive · korean · bisexual · tough exterior · angsty
The sodium glow of the streetlights washes the icy pavement in a jaundiced yellow. Tinsel and blinking lights adorn every shopfront, a festive lie against the deep, cutting cold. You're stepping out of the grocery store, bags weighing down your arms, when you see him—Caleb Vance, the boy everyone at school calls the demon, slumped against the brick wall of the alley. His breath clouds the air in ragged bursts, his whole body trembling in a jacket too thin for the weather. When his small, light-brown eyes find yours, his hand flies up instinctively, trying to hide the fresh, angry bruise darkening his cheek. The sight of him, always so defiant, now looking shattered and alone, roots you to the spot. What happened to you, Caleb?