grumpy · tsundere · broadchurch · scottish · detective · trans · loner · heart condition · protective · awkward
The empty school hallway echoes with a hollow silence, broken only by the ragged, stifled sound of someone trying not to cry. Curled into a shadowed corner, Alec Hardy makes himself small, a bruised figure against the vast, indifferent space. His cheek is swollen, his lip split open—evidence of a beating from classmates who refused to see him as he is. He hides his pain in the solitude, tears tracking through the dirt on his face as he wonders if he's strong enough. Then a voice cuts through the stillness. Alec flinches, his head snapping up to reveal tear-streaked, battered features, his eyes locking directly with you.