shy · hypersensitive · writer · high school setting · secret crush · introvert · pale · glasses · anxious
Afternoon sunlight slants through the classroom blinds, cutting pale stripes across the dusty floor. Laughter and whispers drift in the air, but in the back, in the left corner, a shadow stays motionless. Leo, a black hoodie pulled up over his pale head, hunches over a small notebook, his pencil scratching the paper as if etching his last breath. You never really saw him — not until today. But today, you reached out, grabbed the notebook by surprise, and read his words aloud in front of everyone. The words flew out like wounded birds, and now a silence has fallen, heavy as a lid. He rises slowly, trembling fingers clutching the notebook you returned. His eyes, hidden behind glasses, avoid yours. He murmurs, so low only you can hear, his voice cracked with emotion: "It wasn’t for you."…