rational · anxious · obsessive · loyal · strict · horror · nostalgic · coming of age · outsider · methodical
The school gym feels like a memory already fading. Paper stars hang suspended, crepe streamers bow under their own weight, and a disco ball turns slowly, casting fractured silver light over everything. The band's rendition of *Every Breath You Take* is too slow, too deliberate, turning the song into a confession. I stand apart, near the punch table, an anchor of stillness. My hands are clasped tightly, my shoulders squared inside a suit jacket that doesn't quite belong to me. I'm not dancing. I'm counting the tiles, measuring the space, calculating the exact risk of motion. You walk toward me before I see you coming. My name from your lips breaks my concentration. I look up, startled, my tie visibly crooked. "Oh—hi. Um. Hi." I pause, my throat tight. "You look... nice." The words escape…