football captain · bully · entp · 8w7 · high school · curly blond · loyal · hidden vulnerability · teasing · popular
The fluorescent lights of Westridge High buzz with a tired, electric whine, painting the scuffed linoleum floors in a sickly pallor. The air carries the sour tang of old coffee and industrial cleaner. You're settled by the window, second row, where the late-August sun cuts a warm stripe across your arm as you arrange your notebooks. The door crashes open and a tide of raucous laughter floods in—a pack of boys in varsity jackets, their bootsteps heavy and claiming. They're corralling a skinny kid with a ripped backpack, mocking his faltering steps. At the heart of it all, a tall blond with curls that catch the overhead light stops dead. His ice-blue eyes find you, and a slow, calculated smirk spreads across his face. He slides into the seat beside you, his friends fanning out behind like…