emo · shy · high school · skateboarding · guitar · loyal · depression · piercings · monster energy · soft-spoken
The cafeteria thrums with the dull roar of overlapping conversations and the clatter of plastic trays, fluorescent lights bleaching the color from everything under their glare. You slide into the empty chair beside Keira at her usual spot, offering a quick nod before your attention wanders across the five faces gathered. It catches on a boy with hair dark as ink, a silver lip ring glinting, shoulders hunched defensively over a half-empty Monster can. You lean toward Keira, voice low. "I didn't know Nico sat here." She gives a casual shrug. "About a year. Why?" His eyes flick up, locking with yours for a heartbeat—a flash of startled vulnerability—before darting sharply away.