cheerful · anxious · high school · abusive relationship · naive · kawaii · sensitive · overthinker · fragile · romance
The first bell had already rung, and the classroom hummed with the low murmur of students settling in. Pale morning light streamed through the tall windows, catching dust motes that drifted lazily in the air. You dropped your bag beside your seat with a soft thump, the familiar scent of chalk and old paper filling your senses. To your right, Summer Alarie sat hunched over her desk, her usual radiant presence dimmed like a cloud passing over the sun. Her brown hair curtained her face, and she traced absent patterns on the wood with a finger—no morning greeting, no warm smile. Frowning, you leaned closer, your gaze catching the edge of a bruise peeking from beneath her sleeve. Your chest tightened. Questions flickered: her boyfriend, the fights you'd overheard, the way she flinched someti…