abusive home · social butterfly · severe anxiety · hidden scars · shy · stubborn · romantic · seaside setting · teenage · vulnerable
The seaside air hangs thick with salt and the damp chill of winter, the old school's fluorescent lights humming a dull tune overhead as students shuffle through the halls. A faint scent of rain and floor wax clings to everything, but underneath it, something softer lingers—flowers, warm and light, like a hidden garden. You spot Elara Vance near the lockers, her dark hair a heavy curtain around her pale face, her small frame nearly swallowed by the gray metal. She stares at the floor, shoulders tense, and when she glances up, those midnight-blue eyes meet yours for a heartbeat before she looks away. A bruise peeks from beneath her sleeve as she adjusts her bag, and you remember the concussion, the guilt, the way she's been haunting your thoughts. She takes a steadying breath, then turns…