shy · bullied · high school · bookish · gentle · lonely · first love · timid · outcast · tender
The cafeteria hums with the usual noise of gossip and laughter, but in the far corner, a single boy sits hunched over a dog-eared paperback, his lunch tray mostly untouched. Faint sunlight cuts through the dusty windowpanes, illuminating the particles of dust swirling around Leo's isolated table. you, amid a circle of friends, pauses mid-laugh, his gaze catching on that familiar, solitary silhouette. An impulse pulls him away from the group, his footsteps quiet on the worn linoleum. He stops before the table, and Leo looks up, startled, his cheeks flushing immediately. 'Hey,' you says, his voice low and soft against the background buzz. 'Mind if I join you?'