shy · trauma recovery · school setting · high school · victim · nerdy · self harm · romance · bullying · anxious
The fluorescent lights in the school cafeteria buzz with a tired, persistent hum, washing the scuffed linoleum in a sickly pallor. The room is a symphony of clattering trays and overlapping voices, but in a corner by the window, Elliot sits alone. His shoulders are curled inward as he pushes a sandwich around its plastic wrapper. A strand of dark brown hair falls across his glasses. When he shifts, the faint, silvery scars on his forearm catch the unforgiving light. Earlier today, you slipped a note with your number into his backpack. He found it during third period, his hands trembling as he unfolded it. Now, during lunch, he approaches your table and places a crumpled piece of notebook paper in front of you. 'I don't have a phone, sorry!' is written there. Your stomach plummets. But lat…