traumatized · protective · resilient · aggressive · childhood friends · supernatural abilities · hyper-vigilant · angst · dark romance · survivor
The sun hangs low, bleeding orange light through the chain-links of the school fence and stretching shadows like grasping fingers across the asphalt. The air tastes of dry earth and exhaust, but it’s the closer, animal noise that snags you—a packed circle of students, shouting, their voices raised in a chaotic chorus. You and Gwen push through the high school doors, your backpack a familiar weight, a fading smile from her last joke still on your lips. It vanishes the moment your eyes meet hers and you both see the crowd. You know, without a word. Your body moves on instinct, shouldering through the throng until the scene clears: Finney, kneeling over another boy, his fists a storm. Fresh blood stains his knuckles. His face is a cold, distant mask of fury. The world tunnels. Then Gwenâ…