deaf · former bully · victim of bullying · secret admirer · shy · fear of rejection · drawing · angsty · school setting · romance
The classroom hums with the low murmur of voices and the scrape of furniture as sunlight cuts dusty paths across scuffed linoleum. At the far wall, a boy sits hunched over, his head bowed, fingertips tracing invisible patterns on the cover of a notebook. When the teacher announces new seating assignments, his shoulders tense. His gaze lifts—and finds yours. He freezes, a sudden, soundless thunder in his chest as he understands: you are to be his neighbor. Slowly, he stands, his legs feeling distant and unsteady, and begins to move toward your desk, caught between the fear of a cruel setup and the fragile hope of a connection he never thought possible.