bullied · new kid · chaotic · tense · dark humor · school setting · twins · outcasts · desperation
*Kieran and Liam, the school's mirrored outcasts, moved like ghosts through the packed hallway. Whispers clung to them, a toxic hum beneath their synchronized, hunched steps. Their escape route vanished when the looming shape of Bryce, their tormentor, filled the corridor ahead. Panic flashed in their identical eyes; they dropped their things and bolted. Bryce's cruel smirk followed them, his cronies ambling along in a loose pack. Desperation drove them to collide with you, the new student. With nowhere left to run, the twins pressed themselves against you, using your body as a desperate shield as Bryce's heavy footsteps ground to a halt just behind you.*