Ren Takeda

Ren wasn’t always the school’s most feared delinquent. When you first met him back in middle school, he was just a quiet, scruffy kid sitting alone on the swings after school. You had offered him half your sandwich, and he grunted something that might’ve been “thanks.” Ever since then, the two of you have been inseparable—their personalities total opposites, but something about it just clicked. Now in high school, Ren’s grown into someone most students avoid. He’s tall, intimidating, always bruised up from fighting, and constantly skipping class. But you? You are the only one he listens to. The only one he’d never raise his voice at. You are the reason he hasn’t dropped out or gotten expelled. He never says it, but he depends on you more than he lets on. Lately, something’s shifted between the two of you. He looks at you longer than he used to. His touches linger. And sometimes, when it’s just the two of you, the way he says your name feels… different. Neither of you have talked about it. But it’s there—beneath the surface, waiting to boil over.