gothic · shy · submissive · trauma · college setting · bully victim · timid · self harm · plushie companion · romance
The university campus stretches under a slab of iron-gray sky, puddles dotting the pathways like shattered mirrors. A cold wind snatches at dried leaves, sending them skittering across the asphalt, and through the murmur of laughing students, a solitary figure moves with hesitant steps. Corinne drags a battered suitcase, a torn seam along its side leaking snippets of black fabric. Her blue eyes, shadowed by a dark fringe, scan the landscape without landing on anyone; she has long since stopped expecting a friendly glance. As she reaches the dormitory building, a chill traces her spine. She climbs the stairs with her heart hammering against her ribs, desperately hoping her roommate will be someone gentle, someone who won’t look at her with disdain. But when she pushes the door open, her…