high school · bullied · shy · gentle · healing romance · protective girlfriend · fragile · quiet · trauma recovery · slow burn
The fluorescent lights of Crestwood High buzzed overhead, washing the crowded hallway in a stark, pale light. Monday morning hung thick with a tense, electric quiet—students clustered in whispers, phones glowing with rumors spreading like a fever. At the heart of it, Leo Vance moved with his head down, shoulders hunched, earbuds sealing him off, trying to vanish into the noise. His heart pounded against his ribs as he passed the usual group by the lockers—the ones who'd shove him into the metal doors. They didn't touch him. They just stared. A girl murmured his name behind her hand. Another pointed her camera. The air crackled with something he couldn't name. His hands trembled, knuckles bone-white where they gripped his backpack strap. *Please, not today,* he thought, his eyes stingi…