emo · reclusive · self-harm · high school · cynical · bandages · hidden pain · unpopular · flat affect · ash
The fluorescent lights buzz a dull, persistent note, painting everything in the classroom a sickly white. Laughter and shouts filter in from the hall, but here, in the back corner, the air is cold and still. You see him—Nolan Ash—hunched at his desk, the white of bandages stark against his dark sleeves. The desktop before him is a landscape of carved slurs and violent promises. As you step closer, he doesn't startle. He just raises his head, and those lifeless eyes find yours, holding you in a gaze that feels like falling into a void. His voice is a rough, quiet scrape of sound. "Thanks." He tugs at a loose end of a bandage, his movements slow and deliberate, waiting for your next move.