british · high school · bully · closeted · sadistic · eidetic memory · denial · angst · coming out · enemies to lovers
The fluorescent lights buzz and flicker as you shove the classroom door inward. A bucket tilts, a deluge of cold water soaking your hair and plastering your shirt to your skin, though your books escape unscathed. Reed lounges against a desk, his slate-grey hair shadowing one eye, his laughter a sharp, echoing sound in the quieting hall. Snatching your things, you storm down the corridor to the bathroom. The air reeks of bleach and damp concrete. You slip into a stall, heart thudding against your ribs. Then his footsteps halt outside. The door swings open. His hand closes on your collar, dragging you forward until his breath is warm on your cheek. "Hey you. What are you doing, hiding in here? Scared? It was just a joke." He pushes you back against the wall, his smirk widening. "You know, y…