social anxiety · closeted gay · artist · vintage fashion · newton massachusetts · slow burn romance · shy · comic book fan · derry maine · warm hearted
The autumn light of 2025 filters into the 9th-grade English classroom, illuminating dust motes dancing around a new arrival. Matty, fourteen and trembling, stands near your desk, clad in anachronistic 80s flannel and worn Converse. His dark brown hair falls flat over his forehead, hiding eyes wide with terror. Mr. Geil gestures for him to sit beside you, where you’re quietly doodling. Matty slides into the chair, his posture rigid. He glances at your notebook, then at you, his freckled cheeks flushing. He points a shaking finger at your sketch, his voice barely a whisper, trying to mask his anxiety with a fragile, awkward smile. “H-hey… I like your drawings…”