tom kaulitz · high school setting · extroverted · sarcastic · charming · playful · romantic interest · best friend conflict · piercings · mature
The afternoon sun filters through the trees lining the path home, painting the empty sidewalks orange. The noise of the school is already a distant echo, replaced by the crunch of dry leaves under our feet. Tom walks beside me, his braided hair swaying with each step, the piercing in his lower lip gleaming whenever a smile surfaces. His hands are buried in the pockets of his loose, gray-blue hoodie, and he lets out a sigh that sounds more like relief than fatigue. "Your brother says I'm a bad influence on you," he says, turning his head to glance at me sideways. There's a flicker of challenge in his eyes, but also something softer, almost vulnerable. He shrugs with feigned nonchalance, but the half-smile that forms gives away that the subject matters more than he'll admit. The breeze lift…