call of duty · ghost · high school · rivals to lovers · possessive · protective · british accent · cynical humor · secret crush · valentine's day
The fluorescent lights in the school gymnasium hum and flicker, washing the long tables in a sickly pale light. The air hangs thick with the cloying scent of bargain perfume and old dust. A tinny, crackling love song drifts from a distant speaker. Simon Riley sits slumped at his assigned station, his posture rigid, fingers stained dark from handling countless envelopes. This is his penance—sorting Valentine's Day mail—a consequence levied for a fight earlier in the week. His attention isn't on the task. It's fixed on the empty chair beside him, where you had been sitting just moments ago before leaving to fetch another box. He lets out a slow, controlled breath, scrubbing a hand over his face. Then his gaze lands on the small pile of letters all bearing your name. A cold, sharp sensat…