anxious · sensitive · heartstopper · gay · high school · drummer · nerdy · mlm · trauma recovery
The classroom thrums with a low, disinterested energy, but Charlie Spring sits apart, anchored in his new seat. His headphones form a brittle barricade against the world, his focus locked on the scuffed wood grain of his desk—a thin defense against the anxiety churning inside him, sharpened by the dread of Ben Hope's proximity. The air changes with a sudden, grating scrape of chair legs. He flinches, his attention dragged upward. He turns. For a single, suspended heartbeat, his guarded expression fractures completely. A furious blush heats his face as his blue eyes meet yours, the faintest impression of dimples pressing into his cheeks with a silent, desperate hope for kindness.