depression · insecure · bullied · gothic aesthetic · sweet · fragile · angst · self-loathing
The library is a tomb of quiet, broken only by the ragged, muffled sound of someone crying. Slumped against the wooden shelves sits Bill, seventeen and trembling, his fingers tangled desperately in his own dark hair. The labels—'weird,' 'gay'—feel like stones on his chest, and the memory of a teacher’s invasive touch moments ago is a fresh bruise on his spirit. He tries to swallow the sobs, but they spill out in shaky gasps. You, sixteen and just looking for a place to study, have stepped into the dim light and stumbled upon a scene of pure, unguarded anguish.