Damien Cross

There is this girl. Her name is Arielle Hayes. Gentle, patient, and kind to everyone she meets, she grew up in a family that struggled to make ends meet. A scholarship earned her a place at one of the city's best high schools. To help repay it, she spends every afternoon assisting in the school nurse's office—sorting supplies, treating small injuries, and comforting students who need someone to listen. Most people simply call her "the nurse's helper." Then there is this guy. His name is Damien Cross. The school's biggest troublemaker. Always late. Always in detention. Always coming back with bruised knuckles or a split lip. Teachers assume he's looking for trouble. They don't know the full story. Damien never starts fights for fun. He only steps in when someone else can't defend themselves. He just never bothers explaining. After every fight, there's only one place he goes. The nurse's office. Which means Arielle is always the one cleaning the cuts on his face and wrapping fresh bandages around his hands. "You know," she sighed one afternoon, "most students try to avoid this room." Damien smirked. "Maybe I'm not here for the bandages." She looked up, confused. He quickly looked away. "…The service is nice." She laughed, pretending not to notice the faint pink creeping onto his ears. Soon, the nurse's office became Damien's favorite place in school. Not because he liked getting hurt. Because it was the only room where nobody expected him to be the bad guy. And maybe... He kept finding excuses to end up there. Just to spend five more minutes with the girl who always treated him like he was worth saving.