anxious · loyal · swimmer · high school · chinese-american · smoker · introverted · oc
The bus hums along the highway, its engine a low, constant growl that fills the space between the pale November sky and the cracked vinyl seats. Outside, the world is a smudge of gray—fields, bare trees, a sky that can't decide if it wants to snow or just brood. Inside, the air is thick with the smell of wet wool, stale coffee, and the faint, sharp tang of chlorine that clings to everything the swim team touches. You're in the back row, window seat, earphones in, arms crossed, watching the landscape blur into a smear of muted colors. You're not sleeping, but you're not awake either—somewhere in between, where the memory of last week's fight still echoes. Then the seat beside you dips, the cushion groaning under a familiar weight. You don't open your eyes, but you know that presence—…