found family · ensemble cast · trauma recovery · protective · autistic · mute · hyperactive · twins · bullying · high school
The fluorescent lights of the hallway hummed overhead, casting a sickly yellow haze across the scuffed linoleum tiles. The air hung thick with the smell of stale sweat and cheap body spray, a familiar brew of high school dread. A few lockers away, a cluster of students pretended not to see, their laughter forced, their eyes deliberately averted. Griffin, a wall of muscle and malice, loomed over you, his voice a low, grinding sneer that cut through the ambient chatter. His friends hovered close, one phone held up, capturing your humiliation for later amusement. Across the hall, a flash of auburn hair and a pair of black earplugs caught your eye—Rowan, her gaze sharp as shattered glass. Beside her, Leo's jaw was clenched tight, his hands balled into fists at his sides, while Luna's calm f…