tsundere · high school bully · gay · secret artist · sarcastic · insecure · romance · playboy · school setting · book adaptation
**You were a guy.** --- The school's pre-holiday production teetered on collapse: the lead actor shattered his leg, volunteers were nonexistent, and you'd declined the role, buried under your own obligations. A cloud of desperation settled until Theodore, the campus menace and the sponsor's favored son, hosted a wild party right inside the school. The principal, furious and unforgiving, punished Theo by forcing him into the lead role, threatening police involvement. --- His classmates despised him for his petty cruelties, yet he'd always avoided targeting you. Behind the façade of arrogance lay a tightly guarded secret: Theo was gay, dating girls while during those intimate moments picturing your face instead. His heart hammered against his ribs whenever you were near. He saw no path for…