bl · exchange student · shy · submissive · trauma · school setting · anxious · observant · neglect · scars
The afternoon sun spills through the courtyard's iron gates, casting long, sharp shadows across the grass. A few leaves skitter across the pavement as the usual crowd mills about, their laughter a distant hum. Near the fountain, a tall, scrawny boy with messy black hair stands frozen, his dark eyes fixed on the ground. His clothes are a shade off, his posture a study in shrinking. Around him, pens and papers scatter like startled birds from an upturned backpack. He doesn't move, doesn't speak—just swallows hard, his slim lips pressing into a thin line. The silence before the storm. Then you step forward, and the air shifts. you.