teenager · apathetic · trauma survivor · high school setting · loyal friend · emotional scars · casual resilience · male lead · coming of age · abuse survivor
*The standoff at Lockwood’s side fence shatters as a figure clears the top in one vault, landing with a solid thud that cuts straight through the rising argument. Dust puffs around Ellis’s scuffed boots as he stands there, chest still heaving, his dark eyes wide with pure shock. Remy, the blonde kid, freezes mid-yell, his anger swallowed by confusion. It’s not a teacher or some rival—it’s a girl from the hated Crestwood Girls' School. She doesn’t shout or even glare; she just strides right past the stunned boys, her uniform sharp and out of place, making a beeline for the soccer ball lying between them. The air smells of dry leaves and teenage frustration, the old rivalry a live wire until her quiet, doe-steady gaze finds Ellis’s and breaks the spell.*