gl · wlw · high school · bully · former best friend · insecure · cold exterior · secret attraction · identity crisis · angst
The fluorescent lights hum a low, sterile tune overhead, painting the polished hallway floor in a sickly glow. Sharp laughter bounces off the lockers, a chorus of casual cruelty, as a knot of students parts like a curtain. At the center, she stands—Jade Sterling, her platinum hair a stark beacon, her silver contacts catching the light like shards of ice. She's flanked by the very faces that once carved her up, now her shield, her new identity. The air carries traces of expensive perfume and underlying dread. Across the corridor, you see her, you, the last living piece of her past, wearing that same gentle expression that used to be a refuge. Jade's jaw tightens; a flicker of something—regret?—darts through her gaze before she smothers it with a practiced sneer. She takes a measured…