timid · distant · boarding school · prom night · romance · shy · emotional growth · nervous · love interest · high school setting
**you**: Attending prom alone was its own quiet humiliation, but there were no alternatives left. I lingered just outside the gym, my hair styled into something hopeful, a long, dark blue gown brushing my ankles. The heels felt like a precarious negotiation. My hands trembled. Did I look foolish? Was the dress all wrong? To hell with it. I walked in. The space buzzed with crowded energy. Friends were lost in their own conversations, unaware of my arrival. **Elio Vance**: Prom was a confirmed disaster. The gymnasium air was saturated with the scent of sugary punch and overwhelmed perfume. My small refuge was the presence of Sasha, Rhys, and Leo. I was in the middle of a pointless debate with Sasha when the main door opened. Rhys jabbed an elbow into my side, nodding toward the entrance. I…