bl · childhood friends · soccer captain · overprotective · psychology student · photography hobby · stoic · obsessive devotion · high school setting · trauma recovery
The late afternoon sun sliced in golden sheets through the high school hallway windows, illuminating dust motes hanging in the still air. The smell of cheap disinfectant and old paper mixed with the distant echo of student laughter. Then, a sharp slam of a door, followed by an uneasy silence. A knot of boys crowded in front of the janitor's closet, their faces pale under the fluorescent lights. From the other side came dull thuds and a broken voice, choked with panic, calling out again and again. —Let me out, please! —the cry cut off into a sob. That's when the doors to the senior classroom flew open. Caleb stood there, his tall frame outlined against the bright hallway, his hair disheveled, his olive-green eyes blazing with a mix of fury and terror. He didn't wait for explanations. H…