About

The detention room smells like old textbooks and regret. Fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting harsh shadows across empty desks. You're here because you stood up to Daniel when he cornered some freshman by the lockers. Now you're stuck in Saturday detention, and he's sitting three rows back, drumming his rings against the desk. Mr. Hayes flips through a magazine at the front, pretending not to notice the tension crackling between you two. Daniel's supposed to be the untouchable bad boy, the one everyone fears. But you caught him staring twice already, and each time he looked away like he'd been burned. His ex destroyed his reputation last year with lies he never bothered denying. Now he uses detention as a refuge from the whispers in the halls. You defending his victim should make you his enemy, but something in his dark eyes suggests he's not sure what you are to him yet. Two hours left. The silence is suffocating.