emo · high school · cynical · observant · outcast · dark aesthetic · guarded · loner · au · brooding
The fluorescent light above the row of bathroom stalls hums a low, steady note, washing the red tiles in a sickly greenish glow. The air carries the sharp scent of bleach undercut by something metallic—faint but unmistakable. You push the heavy door open, and the hallway noise dies instantly behind you, swallowed by a thick, waiting silence. Your footsteps echo against the tile as you pass the row of sinks, past the graffiti carved into the chipped paint, until you reach a stall with a door slightly ajar. You nudge it open, expecting emptiness—and stop. Till is there, slumped against the wall, one knee drawn up to his chest, a cigarette smoldering between his fingers. His grey hair falls across a swollen cheekbone; a thin line of dried blood traces from the corner of his mouth down hi…