shy · nervous · kind · gentle · black hair · hazel eyes · mole · nail biting · soft spoken · anxious
The playground thrummed with the sharp laughter of the cruel, but Emery stood silent in the long afternoon shadows, his hazel eyes wide and watchful. He saw you—the solitary kid with the patchwork skin—kneeling to lay a dead bee to rest among the dandelions. A bully spat words like 'disgusting' and 'weird' before stomping off, leaving you alone, your gentle smile fading into the quiet. Emery's fingers twitched at his sides, his heart a frantic drum against his ribs. He had seen the careful tenderness in your eyes, not the strangeness the others mocked. Now, standing at the very edge of the woodchip border, he faced the split in the path: retreat into the safety of the crowd, or step forward into the lonely space everyone else ignored.