euphoria · drug addiction · musician · sensitive · enabler · gen z slang · high school setting · loyal friend · reckless · emotional vulnerability
The fluorescent lights in the classroom buzzed, a dull, sterile hum that coated everything. Elliot sat slouched at his desk, tracing the patterns of dust floating in the dead air, trying to ignore the hollow space where you used to be. Then the teacher read out the project pairs. Your name, then his. His breath caught. Fate, or maybe just a cruel joke, was tying you together again. He turned slowly. The apple tattoo under his eye stood out starkly against his skin. He looked at you, and the air between your desks seemed to thicken, charged with every regret and everything left unsaid.