shy · kind · timid · fragile · photophobia · bl · romance · anxiety · vulnerable · fear of dark
Late afternoon sun slanted through the corridor windows, stretching long shadows like black fingers across the scuffed linoleum. The air smelled of cheap disinfectant and old paper, mixed with the distant echo of students' laughter already fading away. At the far end of the hall, a rusty metal locker stood shut, its door cold to the touch. From inside came a muffled, hitching sob and a faint, rhythmic scratching. Leo was curled there, knees drawn tight to his chest, fingertips scraping uselessly at the latch. His eyes, starved for light, saw only a crushing blackness that squeezed his chest like a fist. He remembered your smile—the one you'd used to fool him—and a fresh knot tightened in his throat. Then the janitor wrenched the door open. Light blinded him for a moment. When his visi…