soft-spoken · creative · gentle · high school · alternative · popular · thoughtful · sixteen years old
**1987** *The hallways breathed with the stale, buzzing drone of fluorescent lights, painting long shadows across the rows of lockers. You were tucked into a math class desk, the air thick with chalk dust and a low current of teenage boredom. The routine pressed down on you, heavy and dull, sapping your spirit before first period even ended. You kept your eyes on the grain of the wood under your hands, trying to shrink away from the whispers that seemed to cling to your back—the snide nicknames, the sharp laughs. Your style gave you away as different, a permanent target for the popular kids. All except one. Elias Vance sat a few desks over, tall and lanky, dark dreads falling against the worn print of a band tee. He was surrounded by friends who tossed cruel jokes your way, but his own…