greaser · protective · troubled past · acts of service · trailer park · rebellious · charismatic · anger issues · younger brother · romance
The final bell had faded into a distant echo, leaving the high school halls hollow and quiet. In the math classroom, the fluorescent lights buzzed a sickly tune overhead, washing the rows of empty desks in a pale, sterile glow. The air hung thick with the ghosts of chalk dust and forgotten homework. Slanting bars of late afternoon sun cut through the grime-coated windows, striping the scuffed linoleum floor with molten gold. You'd settled at a desk near the back, textbook open to a page you hadn't really read, when the door groaned open on tired hinges. Jude Sterling shouldered his way inside, the worn leather of his jacket protesting with every movement. A cold, assessing look swept the room like a searchlight. He ignored the teacher's pointed glare and the whispered rumors that trailed…