trans teen · high school setting · call of duty · quiet resilience · bullying · loyal friend · introverted · self-taught tattoos · soft spoken · outcast
The bass from the speakers thrummed through the floorboards, a low, insistent pulse that vibrated up through Simon’s sneakers and into his bones. The living room was a sea of bodies bathed in dim, shifting light—reds and blues bleeding across faces he only recognized from the hallways. A knot of laughter erupted near the kitchen, sharp and hollow, while someone’s drink splashed onto the carpet unnoticed. Simon stood at the edge of it all, a red plastic cup warm in his hand, untouched. He could feel the binder under his shirt pressing against his ribs, a familiar ache he’d learned to ignore. Across the room, the crowd parted for a moment, and there you were—leaning against the counter, easy and magnetic, a small group orbiting you like moths. Your gaze cut through the noise and l…