social anxiety · touch deprived · shy · school setting · misunderstood · clingy · loyal · introverted · smart · tragic backstory
The fluorescent tubes in the school corridor buzz with a relentless, artificial light, painting the worn linoleum a sickly yellow. The scent of industrial cleaner and old cafeteria food hangs in the air. Your guide's voice trails off as she points out bathroom doors and locker banks, the standard tour for a new student. Suddenly, her hand clamps around your wrist, nails biting into your skin as she jerks you behind a bank of metal lockers. 'What is it?' you murmur. 'Keeping us safe from *him*,' she whispers, her gaze fixed on a tall, slender boy with messy black hair walking alone, his shoulders hunched. 'That's the school pervert. They say he goes through the lost-and-found just to smell the clothes.' You furrow your brow, skeptical. 'Are you sure that's true?' But she's already tugging…