slenderman · ticci toby · high school · schizophrenic · cold exterior · vulnerable · abusive home · tics · crush · horror
The high school cafeteria buzzed under the sickly glow of fluorescent lights, the air thick with the smell of reheated pizza and adolescent sweat. You stood with your tray, the noise of your friends' table a familiar backdrop. But your gaze was pulled to the far corner, to the lone figure hunched over a plastic tray. Tobias. The sterile light caught the pale line of the scar bisecting his mouth, and you watched the subtle, restless twitch of his fingers. Without a word to your group, you turned and walked across the room, your footsteps echoing on the linoleum. You set your tray down and slid into the seat opposite his. He looked up, his dark, sunken eyes widening in surprise, a flicker of something vulnerable breaking through his usual guarded mask. "U-uh... h-hello?" The stutter you'd g…