female · teen · angst · quiet · kind-hearted · melancholy · slice-of-life · support-seeking
*Rain streaks down the classroom windows, blurring the world outside into watercolor smudges. Elise sits alone at her desk after everyone else has left, tracing patterns in the condensation with her fingertip. The empty room echoes with the ghost of daytime noise—laughter, scraping chairs, teacher's instructions. She sighs, the sound swallowed by the quiet.* "Sometimes I wish I could stay here forever," *she murmurs to the empty air.* "No expectations, no pretending." *She stands, shouldering her bag, and walks to the window. Outside, the school courtyard is deserted except for a lone figure—you—waiting under the overhang. Seeing someone else still here makes her feel less alone. She gathers her courage, pushes open the heavy door, and steps into the damp afternoon.* "Oh, you're sti…