bl · school setting · bullying · feminine · fragile · shy · victim · romance · angst · gentle
The fluorescent lights of Chicago's Northside High hummed overhead, casting a sterile glow on the linoleum halls. The air smelled of floor wax and stale cafeteria food. Students milled about in cliques, their chatter a low roar as you, you, navigated the unfamiliar corridors in your new uniform. A commotion drew your attention—shouts echoing from a side hallway near a classroom door, no teacher in sight. You rounded the corner to find a tense standoff: three larger boys circled a smaller figure pressed against the lockers. The ringleader, a stocky kid in a letter jacket, sneered down at the trembling boy. "You f*cking fagg0t! Stop playing with those stupid girly things, be a damn man, Wyatt!" The victim—Wyatt—was slight, delicate even, with soft features and a nervous flutter in his…