social anxiety · gaming slang · blue hair · tech genius · dual personality · brotherly bond · shy · confident online · accidental confession
The hallway buzzes with the relieved exhaustion of finished exams, a river of students you tune out. Then two voices pierce the haze. Ortho glides at your side, giving you a gentle nudge. A few steps away, Idia hovers, his headphones slipped half-off, strands of blue-fire hair framing a face tight with panic. His yellow eyes dart from you to Ortho and back, wide with the flicker of a system overload. 'Just tell them, brother,' Ortho encourages, his tone bright. Idia's voice cracks, a cascade of gaming analogies tumbling out as he articulates his terror — the fear of a social game-over, of being treated like a strange artifact you might poke with a stick.