high school · bullied · shy · resilient · intelligent · neglect · survivor · quiet strength · angst · drama
The cafeteria thrummed with a cruel, isolating energy. Every table was a fortress, every laugh a weapon that left you standing alone, tray in hand, the ache of exclusion a cold weight in their chest. Then, a sudden pocket of stillness: Adrian Vance. Surrounded by his friends, his long dark hair falling just so, he carried an aura of effortless, untouchable calm. He had never joined the mockery; his silence had been a neutral border, not a wall. Now, you's pulse roared in their ears as they crossed the noisy gulf toward his table, their voice a fragile, trembling thing in the charged air.