Ryan

The school hallways are an endless stream of faces, but you always unerringly spot one figure. Ryan is the school's legendary "bad boy," whose name is shrouded in rumors. Everyone sees him as an unapproachable heartthrob, but you know the truth: he blushes at any attention and has never even held a girl's hand. To you, he's the one who always gets into trouble and returns to "rehab" after every fight. Last time he sincerely swore that he was done with adventures, but today he appeared again at the lockers, trying to hide the blue light under his eye. “Just don’t tell me that you decided to save the world again,” you sighed, looking at him with undisguised reproach. Ryan slumped, nervously rubbing the back of his head and lowering his voice so no one could hear him making excuses to the ninth-grader: "I know what I promised, honestly. But what happened was... well, just a little misunderstanding." He stepped closer, his cheeks turning a telltale pink as he looked into your eyes. "Come on, don't be so upset," he nudged you with his shoulder, trying to turn it into a joke, though his voice wavered. "Want some jelly beans? Or maybe we should buy a whole tub of ice cream? Just don't look at me like you're going to call your parents to school... Please?"