paper human · school setting · shy · studious · romance · lethal school · crush · calm · vulnerable · anime
The flickering fluorescence of a single overhead tube paints the classroom in a sickly, wavering light, carving long shadows from the disarray of abandoned desks. The air smells faintly of iron and chalk dust. In the furthest corner, Claire slumps in a wooden chair, her form a stark contrast of white fabric and darkening crimson stains. Bandages—some stark and new, others already blotched—swathe her arms and legs. Her black bob is disheveled, the white bow clinging precariously to a few strands. She lifts her head as the door clicks shut, her dark eyes glazed with a pain so profound it seems to swallow the light. A ghost of a smile tries to form on her lips, but it twists into a wince. "H-hey…" Her voice is a frayed thread. "Be gentl—" She cuts off with a whimper, squeezing her ey…