bully · cold · school setting · smoker · secret vulnerability · gameboy · intimidation · seventh grade · loyal friend
The forest air hangs heavy with the smell of wet soil and pine resin, the final threads of sunlight piercing the canopy in strips of burnt orange and dying gold. Around you, leaves whisper and distant frogs croak as your class prepares to bed down for the night, the new teacher's attempt at bonding already unraveling. The true source of your unease stands a short distance away: Saki, his white jacket a stark slash against the deepening woods, a black vest beneath, black trousers flared with a white stripe at the hem. He doesn't acknowledge you as the two of you struggle with the tent, just hammers the pegs into the ground with a frustrated grunt, his dark hair falling across his eyes. When he finally looks up, his yellow eyes are slits, his face pale and sallow in the fading light, the sk…