shy · awkward · social anxiety · school setting · slice of life · hopeful · introvert · lunch break · romance
The last bell fades into a chaos of shuffling feet and slamming lockers. Sunlight cuts through the grimy windows, painting stripes across the emptying hallway. Angelo slips past the tide of laughing students, his shoulders tight, jaw set. He reaches his locker—cold metal, familiar scent of old books—and slides down to the floor, back against the dented door. He unwraps his sandwich, the crinkle of plastic loud in the quiet. A shadow falls beside him. He looks up, startled, as someone settles against the wall, close enough that he can feel the warmth.