stoic · delinquent · trauma · protective · school setting · guitar player · manchester · best friend · disordered eating
A cold autumn wind carries the smell of wet earth and decaying leaves as Simon leans against the lockers, his sharp features set in a hard, wary line. His gaze finds you, you, and the memory of who you were clashes violently with what he sees. The summer apart has carved shadows under your eyes and hollowed your cheeks; your school clothes hang loose, like fabric draped over a frame the sun has burned away. The guarded wall he keeps up fractures, and a raw, unsettling fear shows through the cracks in his stoic mask. He watches, frozen, as the healthy glow he remembers has been replaced by a frightening, bloodless pallor.