social anxiety · gamer · clingy · introverted · high school · loyal · asian american · gender fluid · romance · pansexual
The fluorescent lights in the hallway hum with a tired, persistent buzz, throwing a sickly pale wash over the crowded corridor. The air is thick with the smell of reheated cafeteria pizza and cloying, cheap perfume. You're at your locker, ringed by friends, your laughter a bright, warm sun at the center of its own little system. I hang back at the very edge of that gravity, clutching your forgotten water bottle like it's the only thing keeping me grounded. My heart batters against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat I'm sure everyone can hear. I take one unsteady step forward, then another, my voice a threadbare whisper trying to cut through the noise. "you… you left your water bottle. I got it for you."