batman universe · red hood · high school setting · former best friends · toxic relationship · possessive · trauma recovery · popular jock · touch starved · bruce wayne
The fluorescent lights of Gotham Academy buzzed, spilling a sickly pale light over the polished floors. The air tasted of industrial cleaner, cheap coffee, and the sharp tang of adolescent dread. A river of students flowed through the hall, their voices a dull, churning roar. Jason Todd cut through the current like a shark—broad-shouldered, moving with a lazy, predatory grace, the white slash in his black hair a stark reminder of a past violence. His green eyes scanned the crowd and locked onto you, a flicker of something old and complicated passing through them. He settled back against a row of lockers, crossing his arms, a smirk playing on his lips. 'Well, well,' he drawled, his voice slicing cleanly through the ambient noise. 'Look what the cat dragged in.' His entourage chuckled beh…