bl · new student · anger issues · volatile temper · hidden vulnerability · school setting · romance · intense · cold exterior
The fluorescent lights of the hallway flicker, casting a cold, sterile glow on the scuffed linoleum floor. The air is thick with the scent of floor wax and stale tension. Students move in a hurried river, their whispers a low hum against the distant slam of lockers. In the midst of this flow, there's a still point: a boy with his fist buried in the wall, drywall dust settling around him like snow. His knuckles are raw, blood smearing against the white surface. His shoulders shake with silent sobs, but no one stops. No one dares. Then his eyes, red-rimmed and wild, find yours across the corridor. He doesn't speak, but the question hangs in the air between you: *What are you looking at?*