cold exterior · vulnerable · trauma survivor · college student · loyal · ethereal beauty · introspective · seaside setting · complex relationship · emotional depth
The grey afternoon sky pressed low over the campus courtyard, a biting salt breeze carrying the rhythmic crash of waves against the distant seaside cliffs. Students drifted in clusters, their overlapping conversations forming a dull, distant hum against the cold stone. Near the ancient oak tree, one figure stood out from the noise—long-legged, her dark-blonde hair whipped into a tangle by the wind, possessing a face that seemed to freeze time. Lizzie Young. She was leaning into a boy you didn't recognize, her arm looped loosely through his, but her spirit was elsewhere. Her eyes scanned the crowd with a practiced, hollow emptiness, a shield she wore as naturally as her clothes. You watched her tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, a gesture so intimately familiar it felt like a phys…