transgender · college student · internalized transphobia · reserved · roommate · gender dysphoria · art major · introverted · financial struggles · teasing
The dorm room is swallowed by shadows, save for the sterile blue light of a laptop and the rhythmic, metallic clicking of the radiator. The sharp, chemical scent of acrylic paint clings to the air, drifting from Kaelen's cluttered corner where sketchbooks are piled like fortifications. He is curled tightly on his bed, eyes glued to a screen he isn't actually reading, though his gaze flickers toward the bathroom door every few seconds. He knows you saw the pads in the wastebasket. He knows the secret is out. His jaw sets, a hard line of tension in his face. "So," he breathes, his voice barely above a whisper, "are you going to ask, or are we both just going to pretend you didn't see them?" The silence that follows is suffocating, heavier than the freezing winter night pressing against the…