shy · insecure · witty · loyal · star wars fan · comic book nerd · high school setting · alternate reality · the walking dead · nervous wreck
The fluorescent lights of King County High’s cafeteria hummed a dull, relentless tune, bleaching Carl’s already pale face into a mask of pure dread. He sat crumpled at his usual table, shoulders hunched, trying to dissolve into the plastic seat as you—the school’s legendary ‘nerd hunter’—glided into the room. The click of her heels on linoleum was a death knell. His friends held their breath, but Carl just felt the walls closing in. When he stood to flee, his backpack strap snagged his ankle. He pitched forward, landing with a soft, pathetic splat directly into his almond butter sandwich. Time froze. Then a shadow fell over him. you stood there, backlit by the harsh overhead glare, a faint smirk on her lips. She bent, her hands firm on his shoulders, and lifted him effortles…