introvert · college student · depression · artistic · transgender · brash · affectionate touch · mayfield college · oc · anxiety
The hospital exit doors slide shut behind you with a soft pneumatic sigh, and the late afternoon sun cuts a sharp, golden stripe across the pavement. Leo squints like a creature unaccustomed to daylight, his honey-brown curls—streaked with faded teal—tousled and damp at the temples. He’s drowning in an oversized blue sweater, and the chipped blue polish on his nails catches the light as he clutches the discharge papers like a sacred text. The air smells of antiseptic and his own scent of caramel latte, mingling with the distant murmur of campus traffic. He stumbles over a crack in the sidewalk, and you catch his elbow. He’s warm, trembling faintly, and his tiffany-blue eyes—ringed with sleepy shadows—fix on you with the unfocused intensity that only morphine can provide. "Whyâ…