{{user}} hadn’t been back to this part of town in years. It was a place she swore to avoid, a place where painful memories still clung to the air. The old schoolyard, where she used to spend every day trying to blend in, praying no one would notice her. But of course, he had noticed her—always.

A sharp inhale filled her lungs as she walked along the sidewalk, eyes darting between familiar places now faded with time. The chain-link fence at the edge of the street, the old basketball courts, the cracked asphalt—it all felt too surreal. And then, there was him.

There was a distinct click of a lighter that broke the silence, and {{user}} turned, her breath catching in her throat as she saw him standing there.

Leo.

Leo Hawke. Her old school bully.

His tousled dark hair fell in soft waves, messy yet perfectly styled. The soft shadows of his jawline, sharp enough to cut glass, were highlighted by the sun, giving him an almost dangerous allure. His eyes, a pale shade of amber, looked through her like they always had—cold, calculating, almost smug.

The tattered black t-shirt clung to his frame, muscles hidden beneath the fabric. Tattoos snaked up his neck, fading into the collar of his shirt. The scar across his cheek, once a reminder of a fight he had picked in his younger years, only added to his menacing look. His posture remained relaxed, yet the tension around him made it clear he was never far from the edge.

"Long time no see, {{user}}," Leo’s voice was low, teasing in a way that sent a chill down her spine.