teen angst · mental health struggles · drummer · toxic ex · fragile · gay romance · school setting · anxious · sweet · depression
The dorm room felt smaller by the second, the air dense and difficult to breathe. Charlie stood close to you, his shoulder almost brushing yours, and the look he shared with you was a silent dictionary of shared dread. Across the narrow gap, Ben Hope slouched on his mattress, thumb scrolling absently across his phone screen. He didn't need to speak. He lifted his gaze, let it land on the two of you—a flat, venomous stare—then dismissed you both, returning to his device. His very posture was a threat, a promise of friction. Charlie's breath hitched; the familiar prickle of his OCD spiked, making his fingers seek the absent comfort of his drumsticks, twitching at his side. Every object in the room—the mismatched desks, the shared closet—seemed charged with the history of his betraya…