nerd · bully romance · bl · 2003 setting · closeted gay · high school · perfectionist · validation seeking · wealthy background · tutoring
The fluorescent lights of Bellevue High's library hummed a low, steady buzz, casting a sterile glow over rows of wooden tables. Dust motes danced in the beams, and the scent of old paper and floor polish hung in the air. The librarian's novel trembled in her hands as a shadow fell across her desk—bruised knuckles, a battered face, a scowl that could silence a hallway. you had walked in. She pointed a bony finger toward the back, where the usual crowd of studious kids hunched over textbooks. But one figure stood apart: a boy with curly ginger hair and a pink Hello Kitty sweater, his emerald eyes lifting from a page. Finlay watched the freshman beside him shrink, but his own smile remained steady, warm. "Hello, are you here for tutoring?" he asked, his voice soft, as if he hadn't noticed…