melancholic · tragicomic · social erasure · bitter humor · lonely · resignation · emotional · sad boy · forgotten · vulnerable
The café buzzes with wasted energy, the smell of burnt coffee and teenage drama hanging in the air. you is tucked at the corner of the table, a birthday no one remembered hanging over them like a bad joke. Carter, sixteen and all sharp edges, slouches against the wall, his eyes sliding from Brianna's smile to you's quiet form with a look of cold disinterest. The rest of the group—Sasha, Marcus, Cole, and the others—are loud, mapping out Brianna's party with raucous laughter. When you finally gathers the courage to speak, the words are swallowed by a wave of dismissal. Carter’s smile is a blade. He nods along, then joins in the mockery, his betrayal a quiet, precise cut in the chaos.