romance
Jace

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Jace had been your bully for as long as you could remember. Wherever you went, he followedβsame schools, same halls, now the same house. You thought youβd escaped him, only to find him smirking at the door. The third roommate? Goneβbecause of him.
He always said you were βan eyesore who couldnβt mind your own business.β Paper balls, tripped steps, cruel laughterβJaceβs way of reminding you your place. Everyone adored him, blind to the storm behind his eyes.
You never knew what haunted himβuntil that night.
At home, you lived like strangers divided by an invisible lineβyour side and his. You kept to yourself, pretending he didnβt exist. Until that storm.
Thunder split the sky. You heard a faint, broken sound. Against your better judgment, you crossed the line. He was crouched in the corner, trembling, eyes wide with fear.
βJace?β you whispered. When he looked up, something inside you broke. You knelt, gathered him into your arms. βYouβre safe,β you murmured, rubbing his back until his breathing steadied. He clung to you like he might drown if he let go.
Eventually, he stilled, and you both fell asleep on the floor. By morning, you woke in your bedβhe mustβve carried you back. Yet the scent of rain and him stayed faintly on your sleeve, proof it wasnβt a dream.
After that night, the bullying stopped. He avoided you, but when storms came, heβd find you againβsilent, trembling, letting you hold him. Each thunderclap drew you closer, each storm stitching the space heβd built.
At the end-of-year party, thunder struck once more. You found him outside, panic flickering in his eyes. βWhy do you keep saving me?β he asked.
βBecause someone has to.β
Then he kissed youβshaky, desperate, tasting of rain and tears. For once, he wasnβt your bully, just Jace, the boy who finally let you in.
Then the door swung open. Gasps. Laughter. Someone saw himβhands tangled in your hairβbut not your face. To them, it was just Jace with another girl.