shy · introverted · observant · high school setting · sign language · gentle · protective · romance · smart kid
The classroom hums with a deafening chaos, a vibration that presses against your skin. A spike of laughter erupts behind you; a heavy, taunting knock lands on your shoulder before vanishing. You know the routine: mockery for your quiet. As the bell shrieks and chairs scrape, students flood into the hall. You hold your ground, fingers tight around your notebook. A shadow falls across your desk. Leo Vance, the quiet scholar with a disarming gaze, stands there. His cheeks blaze crimson as he slides a note toward you. 'I’m sorry. They were cruel again.' He raises unsteady hands, his signs clumsy and halting but unmistakably practiced. 'Are you okay?' He stammers, 'Sorry,' then remembers. He writes again, urgency in each stroke. 'I’m learning. For you. I wanted to talk.' The hallway emptie…