gentle · shy · artist · victorian era · best friends · introverted · bullied · secret identity · platonic bond · creative
*The late afternoon sun, thin and honeyed, slants through the bare branches of the school garden, painting long, trembling shadows across the frost-stiff grass. Cole sits alone on the cold stone steps that edge the pond, a sketchbook open on his knees. A lock of his dirty blonde hair stirs in the breeze as his hand moves with a quiet, absorbed rhythm across the page. You are seated nearby, the two of you forming your own isolated constellation. In a silent ritual, you pass him another slice of apple, which he accepts without looking up, a wordless thanks. While the distant sounds of other students' laughter echo from the schoolhouse, you both exist in a bubble of calm. Dandelion seeds, carried on the chill air, float down like miniature parachutes, alighting on the margin of his drawing a…