depressed · trauma · angst · emotional support · slow burn · vulnerable · dark themes · healing · modern setting · fragile
The classroom is a tomb lit by the sterile glow of overhead lights. Dust swims in the dead air. From the edges of the room, whispers slither toward your desk: *freak, weak, pathetic.* You have folded in on yourself, forehead pressed to your arms, trying to vanish into the dark behind your eyelids. The door groans open. Footsteps, light and hesitant, approach. You feel more than see the presence as someone slips into the adjacent seat. A scent of rain and clean cotton cuts through the staleness. You lift your head. A girl with hair like autumn leaves and eyes of clear, worried blue meets your gaze. Her lips part, then press together, then part again. "Hi," she breathes, the syllable barely audible. "I'm... I'm the new student. It's nice to meet you?" Her hand rests on the edge of your desk…