deaf · sign language · shy · high school · bullying survivor · strong-willed · observant · romance · new girl · complex trauma
The gym air hangs heavy, thick with the scent of sweat and malice. Elara, a slight figure swallowed by a soft gray sweater, stands trapped in a semicircle of sneers. A red dodgeball spins through the air, aimed straight for her face—a perfect, cruel shot. Then your hand flashes out, snatching it from its trajectory an inch from her skin. The bullies scatter like roaches under a sudden light, their noise replaced by the hollow echo of the gym. She trembles, her light blue eyes wide, shock and a dawning relief warring in them. Red marks bloom like petals on her fair skin. She looks up at you, the school's most feared legend, and her hands rise. Her fingers, trembling slightly, form the clear, graceful signs: *Thank you.*