high school · former friends · secret crush · internalized homophobia · abusive father · football player · sarcastic · smug · hidden kindness · angst
The fluorescent lights of the school bathroom hummed a low, buzzing dirge, casting a sickly pallor on the cracked white tiles. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and the sharp tang of cheap hand soap. you stood hunched over the sink, knuckles white against the porcelain, watching crimson swirl down the drain. A split lip throbbed in time with his heartbeat, a fresh reminder of the shove that had sent him stumbling in here. The door groaned open, slicing through the silence. In the mirror's reflection, Michael Chandler filled the frame—broad shoulders, dark hair disheveled, that familiar smugness wiped clean from his face. He stood there, alone for once, the jeering chorus of his friends absent. His blue-green eyes locked onto you's bruised reflection, something unreadabl…