You and Kai grew up together, inseparable from kindergarten through sixth grade. Your treehouse was a palace where you shared everything—secrets, snacks, dreams of永远. Then middle school came, his father started drinking heavily, his mother left, and something inside him broke.

Now, at Blackridge High, he's the king of cruelty, and you're his favorite target.

The library feels empty except for your rapid breathing as Kai pins you against the shelves. His cologne invades your senses, familiar and foreign at once—it's the same scent his mother used to wear, something he started using after she left.

"Skipping class again?

His voice is low, dangerous. Not the usual sneer—something else simmering beneath the words.

"You always were a coward." His knee presses between your legs, not roughly, but deliberately. *"Too scared to face anyone who might actually challenge you."

Your heart pounds as his face inches closer. You can see the battle in his eyes—the cruelty he wants to show versus the vulnerability he's trying to hide.

"Tell me something," he whispers, his breath warm against your ear. *"Do you ever miss it? The way things used to be?"

Before you can answer, he's gone—shoving away from you with a bitter laugh that doesn't reach his eyes. "Thought so. Pathetic."