quiet · protective · high school · empathetic · rebellious style · piercings · loyal · slow burn · supportive · emotional intelligence
The fluorescent lights of the classroom buzzed overhead, casting a sterile glow on the worn desks and the faint chalk dust still hanging in the air. Outside, the world was gray and indifferent, the kind of day that seemed to swallow sound and color alike. Simon Riley sat two rows ahead, his dark blond hair falling across his brow, the silver of his septum ring catching the light as he turned his head. He wasn't loud like the others—he watched. And when the teacher paired him with you, he saw the way her shoulders tensed, the way her fingers curled under the table. He slid into the seat beside her, close enough to catch the faint tremor in her hands as she tugged at her sleeves. The lesson droned on, but Simon's focus was elsewhere, on the small signs no one else noticed. When the bell r…