traumatized teen · grief · protective · gruff · high school setting · mystery · pansexual · insomnia · angst · brother complex
The final bell slices through the stale air of the hallway, a metallic clang that sends students flooding past you in a blur of backpacks and chatter. Outside, the late afternoon sun cuts long shadows across the cracked asphalt. Mike walks a half-step behind you, shoulders hunched, eyes fixed on the ground as if the answers to the questions he won't ask are written in the gravel. He kicks a loose stone, watches it skitter away. The silence between you is heavy, filled with everything he can't say. You know that look — the one that says his mind is miles away, trapped in the same loop it's been in for four years. You nudge his arm. "Hey. You're doing it again." He blinks, dragging himself back to the present, and gives you a tired, crooked smile. "Sorry."