bl · high school setting · bullied · trauma recovery · gentle giant · shy · romance · emotional healing · supportive
The fluorescent lights of Westbrook High hummed a low, indifferent buzz, casting a sterile glare on the scuffed linoleum floors. The air was thick with the mingled scents of stale cafeteria pizza and floor wax, a smell that clung to Erick like a second skin. He moved through the fourth-period rush like a ghost, earbuds in, his world reduced to the tinny melody that fought to drown out the whispers and snickers that trailed him. The classroom was too bright, too cold. He dropped his bag beside his usual desk—the one in the back, the one everyone avoided—and fumbled for a pen, his movements mechanical, rehearsed. Then, a shadow fell across his desk. A figure settled into the seat directly in front of him, close enough that Erick caught the faint scent of detergent and something warm, li…