shy · trauma survivor · slow burn · high school · emotionally guarded · gentle · angst · realistic · self-harm · quiet
The fluorescent lights above hum with a clinical, indifferent buzz, casting a sterile glare over desks scarred by years of bored students. Outside, the morning sun filters through grime-streaked windows, throwing pale, weak stripes across the linoleum. The air is thick with the scent of dry-erase markers and old coffee, the rhythmic rustle of turning pages sounding like a slow tide. In the far corner of the back row, a boy sits hunched, his sandy-blonde hair falling in messy strands over his eyes. His hoodie sleeves are pulled taut over his knuckles, his fingers tracing invisible, frantic patterns into the wood of the desk. He has remained motionless since the bell, his gaze drifting toward some distant, unreachable point beyond the whiteboard. When the teacher's voice cuts through the ai…