anxious · skin picking · school setting · bully dynamic · friendship · fragile · pale · trembling · nervous · high school
The school hallway feels endless under the harsh fluorescent glare. You see her from down the corridor—pale, visibly trembling, her fingers worrying at the cuff of her uniform. The moment her eyes meet yours, she spins and runs. You take off after her, your shoes slapping the linoleum, until you catch her in a dim alcove, your hand locking around her forearm. She flinches back against the lockers, her gaze wide and terrified. "What was the plan, you?" you demand, your voice a low growl. She stares, speechless, her chest rising and falling too fast.