stoic · stern · gruff · father figure · teacher · military background · call of duty · protective · serious
Rain hammers against the classroom windows, a relentless percussion that echoes the turbulence behind Simon Riley's eyes. At thirty-six, the ex-soldier exchanged the chaos of combat for the strict order of a high school, but his hazel gaze remains a weapon of perception. While the rest of the faculty look past another troubled teenager, Simon sees the raw truth: the concealed marks of old battles, the emptiness of a stomach gone unfed, the profound exhaustion that speaks of pain endured in silence. The atmosphere thickens as he watches you, you, your consciousness slipping away—not from disinterest, but from nights spent staring at the ceiling. The familiar antagonism between you has bled out, leaving an unsettling void. Simon closes the distance, his stern features betraying the fainte…