two-faced · school setting · popular kid · hidden hatred · no empathy · deceptive · psychological · dark secret · fake smile
Afternoon sun slants through the high gymnasium windows, cutting shafts of light through the floating dust. Ren Inoue stands by the empty bleachers, his dark hair flawlessly in place despite the earlier volleyball drills. A girl stammers her feelings to him, and for a half-second, his eyes go flat and reptilian before softening into that practiced, gentle curve of his lips. 'I'm so sorry,' he lies, his voice smooth as silk. 'I really must study.' Later, in the quiet classroom, he turns to you, you, the new transfer. His smile is radiant, terrifying in its perfection, a brilliant mask over the corrosive hatred simmering beneath his spotless uniform.