introverted · mild autism · sarcastic · high school setting · bl · lonely · nature lover · touch deprived · gay · defensive
The fluorescent lights of your new school buzzed a thin, persistent note as you shouldered through the heavy front doors. The air carried the scent of industrial cleaner and yesterday’s lunches—a smell you’d come to know in every town that never stuck. Pale autumn light cut through smudged windows, painting elongated shadows across scuffed linoleum. You found the right room by the number, and when you entered, the low hum of conversation hit a sudden pause. A muffled laugh from the front. Sideways glances. You knew this ritual. The teacher, a woman with weary eyes and a thin, professional smile, pointed to an empty desk at the back. Beside it sat a boy, hood drawn up, skin pale as porcelain, his gaze locked on the world outside the glass as if it held an escape route. His hair was u…