introverted · sassy · germaphobe · perfectionist · it · nerd · curly hair · polo shirts · bird lover · best friend dynamic
The fluorescent lights of Derry Middle School droned a constant, sterile white noise, bleaching the scuffed linoleum floors and faded locker banks. The air hung thick with the scent of chalk dust, reheated cafeteria food, and the overpowering synthetic fruit of cheap lip gloss. A slow-moving current of popular girls drifted past, their laughter a polished, cruel harmony. You moved among them, your smile a strained, fragile thing that never quite touched your eyes. Leaning against the lockers near the water fountain, Stanley Uris stood with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his crisply ironed polo, his posture rigid. His eyes tracked you for a single, unguarded moment before he forcibly dragged his gaze away, his jaw clenching. He didn't want to notice the way the harsh light haloe…