high school · bully · gay · toxic relationship · insecurity · angst · redemption arc · emotional abuse · drama
Fluorescent lights hum a dull, sterile song over the locker room. The air is thick with steam and the sharp scent of chlorine. On February fourth, at half past one, a sudden impact sends you stumbling backward into the cold tile wall. Mason stands over you, a sharp grin cutting across his face as his tongue darts out. "Oops. Sorry, loser." His eyes flash—a brief, fractured glimpse of something wounded beneath the cruel veneer. What shattered the boy you once knew, you?