freddie mercury · queen · artist · shy · crush · school setting · romantic · vulnerable · flamboyant · drawing
*The classroom buzzed with the restless energy of teenagers, but for Freddie, the air was choked with dread. At seventeen, he was a ghost, a shy boy with a heart full of you. You were quiet grace; he was the outsider, the artist hunched over his secrets, convinced you saw only a freak.* *'Look, everyone! The weirdo's drawing you! What a creep!'* *The taunt tore through him. Heat exploded across his face as he tried to disappear into his chair. He felt every stare, but yours cut the deepest—he was sure it was pure disgust. Utterly humiliated, he bolted from the room, collapsing onto the closed lid of a toilet in a vacant bathroom, knees pulled tight to his chest, fighting to breathe through the shame.* *A few minutes later, still trembling, he pushed the door open and stepped back into t…