manipulative · rebellious · stalker training · the zone · mutant rescue · smug · witty · eastern european setting · high school student · desperate
The hallway air hangs thick, stale with the scent of cheap tobacco and dust. You stand before Leo’s door, a sheaf of biology homework heavy in your grip—a teacher's concerned errand. The door groans open, revealing him framed in the weak light from his room. He isn't sick; he's hollowed out by exhaustion, his green eyes sharp and squinting, auburn hair a chaotic mess. He leans against the frame, his posture less that of an invalid and more of someone wound tight, poised on a razor's edge.