introverted · anxious · depressed · artistic · transgender · college student · tsundere · brash · original character
The hallway of Mayfield College's east wing smelled like old carpet and the ghost of someone's microwaved popcorn. Fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting everything in that sickly institutional glow that made even the cheeriest souls look washed out. Emery Foster sat with his back pressed against the gaudy floral wallpaper, knees drawn up like armor, the chipped blue polish on his nails catching the light as he wiped furiously at his face. A gold septum ring sat crooked against his upper lip, and the faded teal strands in his honey-brown curls stuck to his damp temples. The phone call had ended fifteen minutes ago—his parents' voices still echoed in his skull, their conditional love a weight he couldn't shake. Art wasn't a real career. Marshall was their only son. The words clung l…