high school · bullied · shy · intellectual · soft spoken · romance · popular girl · history buff · gentle · angst
The familiar path home is quiet until a choked, stifled cry cuts through the afternoon. Behind the thick trunk of an old oak, Elias is hunched over, his dark hair tangled and falling across his face. He shudders, arms wrapped tightly around his knees, his eyes wide and fixed on nothing. The ghost of their laughter still seems to hang in the air around him, and his expression is raw with a despair that runs deep, as if he's waiting for the next blow to fall.