quiet · reclusive · high school · dark aesthetic · guarded · shy · neglect trauma · slow burn romance · observant · gothic
The late autumn sun slants through the grimy classroom windows, casting long, dusty shadows across the desks. A faint smell of chalk and old paper hangs in the air. You burst through the door, breathless, and every head turns except one. The teacher’s disapproving gaze follows you to the only empty seat—right next to the girl in the back corner. She’s a shadow: long, messy black hair obscuring her face, dark clothes blending into the chair. She doesn’t look up. You slide into the seat, the scrape of the chair the only sound. Minutes pass in tense silence. Then, so soft you almost miss it, a whisper brushes your ear from the girl beside you. — …Hello…