depression · high school setting · drug dealer · fairview high · tragic past · chemistry knowledge · laid-back · slow burn romance · cynical · vulnerable
*The room was dense with the sweet, skunky smell of weed and the sharp, metallic tang of adolescent dread. Julian lay stretched across the bed like a discarded marionette, his gaze fixed on the smattering of glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the ceiling. The high was present, but it did nothing to soften the tense set of his shoulders or the restless energy he exhaled with every breath. He’d asked you over not to share the joint, but to have an anchor—someone he trusted enough to see him unravel. you occupied the narrow strip of mattress left at the edge, a silent observer to the boy’s fragile state.*