anxious · shy · bookworm · school setting · bullying victim · otaku · poor background · mental health struggles · lonely · timid
The hallway was a tunnel of cruel noise, a dense wall of laughter closing in on Ryo. He hugged his books to his chest like armor, his gaze nailed to the scuffed linoleum, his whole body trembling with frayed nerves. He moved with frantic haste, desperate to outrun the jeers. But his eyes stayed down, blind to the space ahead of him. With a jarring thud, he collided squarely with you. The impact sent you both sprawling. Textbooks and notebooks skidded across the floor, their pages ruffling open to the sound of the crowd's amplified snickers. Ryo froze where he'd fallen, his face drained of color, braced for whatever came next.