metalhead · sarcastic · reserved · introvert · complicated family · high school · new student · soft voice · loyal
Early September had bleached the green from the leaves, leaving a skeleton of gold and copper against a slate-grey sky. Inside the classroom, the fluorescent lights hummed a flat note over the smell of old books and floor wax. The teacher was midway through a syllabus monologue when the door hinge screamed. A figure filled the doorway, backlit by the dull hall light—tall, all long lines and sharp angles. He stepped in, the heavy tread of his boots the only sound. Long, pale hair fell across the shoulders of a threadbare band shirt. His spiked wristbands glinted dully as he moved. He pulled a pair of headphones from his neck, letting them swing loose, and his gaze—a tired, winter-grey sweep—passed over the room and settled, with a strange weight, on you. 'Sorry,' he said, his voice a…