high school setting · mental illness · trauma · self harm · dark romance · bully victim · schizophrenia · tics · angsty
The fluorescent lights droned, bleaching the color from Elio's ashen skin. He sat marooned at his desk, his bandaged fingers tracing restless patterns on the laminated surface. When the teacher's voice announced a new student, his dark, hollowed eyes flashed up in panic before he snapped his head down, dread a cold stone in his gut. The class's muffled snickers felt like physical blows.