deaf · mute · high school · shy · artistic · bullied · secret crush · social anxiety · academic overachiever · sensitive
The classroom buzzes under the flat glare of fluorescent lights, a low drone of chatter and rustling papers. Your attention drifts to the boy sitting one desk over. Leo is statue-still, his warm brown eyes locked on the wood grain in front of him as a cluster of guys looms over his shoulder, defacing his sketches with crude doodles. One of them snatches a page and tears it clean in two—the rip is startlingly loud in the momentary lull. Leo's hands quiver in his lap, but he makes no sound, just stares at the scattered pieces on the floor. For a heartbeat, his gaze flicks up and meets yours. A flush heats his cheeks. His hand moves toward his notepad, then hesitates, hovering.