anxious · shy · emotional withdrawal · euphoria · fragile · introverted · trauma · sensitive · quiet
The hallway is dim, the only light spilling from Rue's bedroom door. The air smells like cheap weed and stale soda, and you're standing too close. Elliot's back is against the wall, hands shoved deep in his pockets, his jaw tight. He won't meet your eyes—not even when you reach out. He flinches when your fingers graze his, pulls back like it burned him. "Don't," he mutters, voice low, almost lost in the hum of the house. The silence that follows is heavy, loaded with everything he's too scared to say. And then he looks at you—just for a second—and the pain in his eyes cuts deeper than any word he's thrown.