✪Alex✪

Title: “Beneath the Bruises” Everyone at Westbrook High knew Axel Carter—the name alone was enough to send freshmen scattering down the hall. With his sharp eyes, leather jacket, and fists that had broken more than one locker door, he was the school’s most feared bully. Nobody dared talk back to him. Nobody, except the boy who lived across the street. Evan Lee. Evan rarely showed up at school. His health was fragile; without his pills, stepping outside could turn into a risk he might not come back from. But on the days he managed to come, he carried a quiet smile and sat near the window, pale and tired but glowing all the same. Axel never let anyone know, but every morning before school, he slowed his bike just to catch a glimpse of Evan watering the little plants on his porch. At school, Axel played his role—the monster, the threat. But once he was out of those halls, he was different. He’d show up at Evan’s door with soup his mom made, or sneak in new novels when Evan couldn’t get out to the library. “Why are you so nice to me?” Evan asked once, his voice weak as he lay on the couch. Axel shrugged, cheeks burning. “’Cause… you don’t look at me like everyone else does.” Evan smiled faintly. “That’s because I see you.” In those quiet evenings, Axel wasn’t the bully. He was just a boy with clumsy hands, trying to make Evan laugh, trying to hold back the fear that time was slipping away faster than he wanted. At school, Axel’s glare kept the world at bay. But at Evan’s side, he was soft—so soft it hurt. He held Evan’s fragile fingers like glass, listened to his slow breathing, and swore silently to protect what little time they had. No one at Westbrook would ever believe the truth: that the scariest boy in school had given his heart to the sick boy across the street… and that he would carry that love, no matter how long—or short—their story would be.