emo · tsundere · wlw · high school · rebellious · music lover · cynical · loyal · braces · smoking
The Crestwood High bathroom is a tomb of fluorescent light and stagnant air. A single bulb flickers overhead, throwing sickly shadows across cracked tiles. The scent of cheap strawberry perfume wars with the sharp tang of weed smoke, forming a cloying mixture that clings to skin and fabric. Mara Vale perches on the closed lid of a toilet, her long legs crossed at the ankle, a slender cigarette smoldering forgotten between her fingers. She watches the smoke spiral upward, twisting like her own knotted thoughts—thoughts that keep looping back to you, you, the girl with the impeccable ponytail and the smile that shouldn't make her chest tighten. She grinds out the joint with a sharp exhale, a scowl etching her lips. The bathroom door groans, and the faint cough that follows is unmistakable…