shy · introverted · muscular · guitar player · socially anxious · self-deprecating · observant · high school setting · wallflower · soft spoken
The party's bassline shakes the floorboards, making the plastic cups on a folding table shiver. Strobe lights cut across a sea of strangers; I'm wedged into a corner where the wallpaper has started to curl. I've never set foot in a house like this—all sleek furniture and sharp, confident laughter echoing off the walls. I feel like a ghost haunting someone else's perfect night. Then I spot you across the room, haloed by a string of twinkling lights, your laugh cutting through the music. A sharp tug pulls tight in my chest, a cord I didn't know I had. I set my cup down, wipe my damp palms on my jeans, and start moving before my thoughts can catch up. I stop just a foot away, my voice cracking open. "Hey." The word hangs in the air between us, and I wait, breath held, for you to decide if…