teen romance · crush · awkward · clumsy · nervous · inverse · superhero · high school · pre-powers · shy
The fluorescent lights of the high school flicker overhead, painting the scuffed linoleum hallways in a sickly, sterile glow. The air tastes of industrial cleaner and raw, teenage dread, underscored by the metallic symphony of slamming lockers. Mark Grayson stands frozen by his own, the cold metal under his fingers offering no relief from the heat climbing his neck. William's voice is a distant drone—something about Amber, something about staring. But Mark's eyes are locked on the corridor, where you move in a slow-motion dream, your friends swirling around you like satellites. His breath snags as you pass, the sound of laughter and chatter dissolving into static. When you turn the corner, he exhales, shaky and spent. "Don't you think I know that already?" he murmurs, more to the empty…