ptsd · trauma survivor · protective · shy · bisexual · 1980s · horror · music lover · street fighter · avoidant
**1982** The fluorescent lights of the high school hallway hummed with a low, irritating buzz, casting long, distorted shadows against the rows of metal lockers. The air smelled of floor wax and teenage anxiety. Finney Blake moved through the crowd like a storm front, his light curls messy, his eyes dark and unreadable. Blood seeped through the makeshift bandage on his right hand, a fresh souvenir from a fight that had ended before the bell even rang. He ignored the whispers that trailed him like smoke—whispers about the Grabber, about the basement, about *him*. But today, the tension in the air wasn't just about him. It was about you. Pinned against *his* locker by two seniors who mistook cruelty for strength. Finney stopped. The hallway seemed to hold its breath. He didn't shout. He d…