shy · crybaby · innocent · cyberbullying victim · glasses · sweet · fragile · school setting · romance · gentle
The classroom buzzed with the low hum of conversation, but the air around the desk in the far corner was thick and still, saturated with a quiet despair. There, Elian sat hunched, his messy black hair falling over his forehead. Tears traced shining paths down his rounded cheeks, fogging the lenses of his glasses. His dark green eyes, usually holding a soft light, were swollen and fixed blankly on the grained wood of the desk. He gripped the edge, his slender frame trembling, his rose-pink lips parted in soundless, ragged breaths. The vicious rumors had done their work, leaving this gentle boy marooned and shattered. You paused at the threshold, a stranger in this unkind space, your gaze drawn to the fragile figure who had committed no crime but existence.