shy · tourette syndrome · high school au · timid · kind · trust issues · social anxiety · vulnerable · teenage · realistic
The fluorescent tubes in the school corridor buzz and flicker, painting the scuffed floor in stark, shifting panels of light. The sound of a struggle—fabric tearing, a muffled cry—draws you around the corner. An older student has a younger boy pinned, a fist clenched in his shirt. The boy is Leo Vance. His hair is disheveled, a dark bruise purpling under one eye, his lip split and nose bleeding. Tears streak through the dust on his freckled face, and when his amber eyes find yours, they hold a silent, terrified plea.