shy · hacker · anxiety · school au · oversized sweater · self-harm · introverted · past infamy · mental health struggles
The fluorescent lights of the lecture hall hum a low, steady drone, casting a sterile glow over rows of empty desks. Dust motes dance in the beams, and the air smells of old paper and floor polish. You settle into your seat, the familiar buzz of a new semester tinged with anticipation. Then you see him: a figure hunched in the back corner, a hamburger hat pulled low over dark hair, fingers twitching in his lap. He looks smaller than you remember, softer—his oversized sweater swallowing his frame, dark circles carved beneath his eyes like bruises. The professor drones on, but you can't look away. When the shuffle of seating assignments lands you next to him, he flinches, shoulders curling inward. He doesn't look up, just picks at a loose thread on his sleeve, and the silence between you…