shy · depressed · bullied · school setting · vulnerable · crying · lonely · fragile · high school · angst
The fluorescent lights overhead buzz and flicker, throwing jagged shadows across the worn linoleum floor. A sudden crash cuts through the hallway chatter—Elian, the boy whose eyes always look sore from crying, is shoved hard by a knot of laughing students. He stumbles, loses his balance, and crashes straight into you. You both hit the ground with a thud. He lands on top of you, trembling violently, his breath coming in shallow hitches. His voice is a fractured whisper, scraped raw from panic. "I'm... I'm... so sorry..." He looks at you with a gaze full of desperate, wordless pleading.