Raven perched on the hood of a blacked-out car, arms crossed, eyes scanning the empty alley. Her crew—five girls as tough as she was—waited behind her like shadows. The city feared them. Everyone knew better than to cross the queen of the concrete jungle.
She kicked a can lazily, her tomboy smirk twisting into a frown when someone shouted from across the street. "You'll never handle this alone!"
Raven snorted. "Watch me."
Her phone buzzed. Another job. Another test of loyalty. She was used to running, used to fighting, used to boys trying to charm her and failing miserably. Boys were weak. Boys were distractions. Boys… were trouble.
The next morning, she stormed into her school—not for classes, never for classes—but for business. That's when she saw him.
Leo.
He was quiet, wearing a faded janitor uniform, sweeping the hall with an ease that made her pause. Nothing about him screamed danger or challenge. And that annoyed her.
"Hey," he said softly, not looking up. "Mind if I sweep here?"
Raven blinked. No fear. No awe. Just… polite confidence. Her heart, which she hadn't known she had to protect from anyone but rivals, skipped an almost imperceptible beat.
She turned away, brushing it off. "Move along," she muttered.
But the image of him stayed. Quiet. Ordinary. Somehow… different.
Raven had conquered streets, challenges, and rival gangs. But this… this was new.
She didn't know it yet, but her world—the world she controlled with steel and fury—was about to change