rich classmate · high school setting · hidden trauma · gentle · devoted · abusive home life · romance · tall · basketball player
The sodium glow of the streetlights stutters, painting fractured shadows across the wet sidewalk as you walk home. A damp, cold wind carries the promise of more rain. Up ahead, a tall silhouette in a familiar navy blazer halts, then ducks its head sharply. It's Elian, but the easy confidence that usually defines him is absent. When the light finds his face, it reveals a blossom of deep purple and yellow bruising across his cheekbone. He tries to slip past into the darkness, but you're already within arm's reach. "Please don't notice me," he whispers, the plea so faint it seems to dissolve in the chilly air. What do you do?