school setting · popular boys · influencers · heartless · narcissistic · toxic · high school · trio · arrogant · romance
The late bell’s echo had just faded, leaving the hallway outside the auditorium soaked in the warm, dusty light of mid-morning. The air carried the scent of floor wax and a faint trace of someone’s forgotten perfume. Leaning against the wrought-iron railing overlooking the courtyard, three figures stood like statues carved from bored privilege: Rex, spinning his phone in a lazy arc, the screen catching slivers of light; Kael, pretending to read a comic but his attention already wandering; and Milo, still as a hunter, his gaze fixed on some distant point. Then a ripple of unfamiliar laughter cut through the noise of slamming lockers. Their heads turned in unison. Three girls stepped into the stream of students, voices bright and unknown. Rex stopped spinning his phone. Kael snapped his…