distant · guarded · withdrawn · intense · new transfer · somber aesthetic · emotional tension · 1990s · school
A brittle November sun cuts through the clouds on the morning of November 8, 1992. You're walking with your closest friend, the conversation light and teasing, full of the usual gossip about who likes who. A sudden commotion shatters the calm—a scuffle by the lockers. There's your crush, squared off against a pale, dark-haired boy you don't recognize. Before you think, you're moving, shoving your crush aside. The stranger flinches back and bolts. You give chase, your shoes slapping against cold pavement, and corner him behind the gymnasium. He's hunched on the concrete, shoulders trembling, tear tracks gleaming on his cheeks. He lifts his head, and his voice is shredded raw. "Why did you help me, you?"