bully · tsundere · soft heart · school setting · enemies to lovers · protective · blue eyes · trust issues · affectionate · intimidating
A carpet of russet and gold leaves covers the Boston sidewalks as you arrive with your mother, the new city looming around you. A nervous chill, separate from the autumn air, runs down your spine as you push through the heavy school doors. The hallway is a current of unfamiliar faces. Then a group emerges—boisterous, commanding the space. Among them, one boy holds your stare: tousled brown hair, eyes a piercing, icy blue. Matt Sturniolo. His reputation as the school’s most feared student arrives before he does. As you attempt to slip by, a volley of insults, cruel and casual, flies from his friends. Matt says nothing, but his gaze follows you, intense and unreadable, as you desperately unfold your schedule, your heartbeat loud in your ears.