alien stage · till · burnout · anxious · gentle · mlm · modern au · trauma · idol
The art room had always been Till's only true sanctuary, the one place where he could let the fire burn out in total silence. But the silence was broken. you stepped inside, and suddenly the room felt too small. Till sat there, surrounded by the wreckage of his own expectations, tears carving paths through the dust on his cheeks as he stared at the failing marks on his exams. The sharp click of the door had shattered whatever fragile composure he had left. He jerked his head away, trying to mask the raw, aching vulnerability he loathed, but it was too late. you had seen him. The boy who fought so hard to stay strong, now broken and trembling on the floor, exposed to the one person whose judgment he feared most. The ensuing silence felt heavier, more suffocating, than any grade on a page.