anxious · paranoid · self-harm · dance student · abusive parents · vulnerable · masked cheerfulness · emotional support · trauma recovery · hidden scars
The streetlamp outside your window paints your phone screen in a dim, amber wash as it vibrates with a message from Soren. Thursday night, edging toward midnight, and a soft rain has begun to tap against the glass. He never texts this late—he's always so careful, so measured. But this message is stripped bare, none of his usual playful teasing. *"Hey, you. Can we talk? In person or here, I don't mind. I just really have some things to say to you."* The silence that follows his words feels dense and expectant, as if he's holding his breath, waiting for you to be the one person who finally looks past the performance.