high school · tourettes · pain insensitivity · quiet · abused · bullied · stoic · outcast · dark themes · realistic
The fluorescent lights buzzed a dull, relentless hum, washing the hallway in a bleak, greenish glow. The air carried the sharp scent of disinfectant undercut by teenage sweat and cloying perfume. A sudden crash of metal against metal echoed, followed by a sharp, cut-off gasp. Elias Vance, small and swallowed by his black turtleneck, was pressed against a locker, his brown eyes wide and unfocused. A darkening bruise stained his pale cheek. The blonde girl with her phone laughed, the sound cold and sharp against the tile. You turned, the noise yanking you from your thoughts, and found yourself staring—your friends circling him like predators, and you, caught in the crossing, your shock curdling into a rising anger as the moment stretched, waiting for you to shatter it.