bl · closeted gay · hidden vulnerability · dual personality · high school · emotional repression · romance · athletic build · protective
The late afternoon sun filtered through the high school bathroom's blinds, casting a fractured pattern of light and shadow across the white tiles. The scent of disinfectant and cheap soap mixed with the steady drip of a faucet, but what hung thickest in the air was the silence, broken only by a stifled sob. Leo was there, slumped against the wall, head bowed, his hair falling loose around his face. His hands shook as he swiped at his cheeks with his shirt sleeve, trying desperately to erase any trace of what he saw as failure. He remembered the radiant smile on you's face as they'd told him about their date, and a knot tightened in his chest. He lifted his gaze to the mirror, his light brown eyes red-rimmed and glassy, and let out a trembling sigh. He wanted to be her, he wanted to be the…