time travel · 80s aesthetic · high school setting · soft bully · sweet · protective · culture shock · guitar player · romance · fish out of water
The fluorescent lights of the corridor buzzed a cold, clinical hum, bleaching the faces of students dressed in what looked like discarded costumes. The air carried the cloying scent of artificial berries and ozone. A boy with dark, slicked-back hair and a worn denim jacket stood statue-still amidst the flow, his eyes scanning for anything he knew. He blinked slowly, the afterimage of a shimmering gadget and a searing flash still imprinted on his vision. He noticed the cluster of kids murmuring, their unfamiliar slang slicing through the din. One held up a small, glowing slab, aiming it at him. He recoiled instinctively, but they only burst into laughter. "Check out this dude! Did he get lost on the way from a John Hughes movie?" His teeth ground together. Lost? He was more than lost. He s…