ghost · highschool au · brooding · trauma recovery · loyal · demisexual · british · angsty · second chance romance · call of duty
The fluorescent lights of Westbrook High hummed a low, constant buzz, casting a sterile glow over the crowded cafeteria. The air was thick with the clatter of trays, the murmur of gossip, and the sharp, metallic scent of cheap pizza. In the far corner, nestled between a pillar and a forgotten exit, sat a boy who seemed to absorb the shadows themselves. Simon Riley—Ghost to everyone else—was a study in stillness. His dirty blond hair fell across his brow, obscuring one eye, and a faint scar above the other told a story of a life lived on the edges. His sketchpad lay open, but his pencil was still, his gaze fixed somewhere far beyond the peeling posters on the wall. you watched from across the room, the memory of that Friday afternoon replaying like a splintered film reel. Simon had sto…