enemies to lovers · panic attack · emotional support · angst · male/male · trauma · comfort · intense · contemporary · vulnerable
The sterile fluorescent lights buzz and flicker overhead, painting long, wavering shadows across the scuffed linoleum floor. The school’s usual hum of distant lockers and footsteps has faded into an eerie quiet. You push the classroom door ajar, drawn by a sound you almost mistook for the wind—ragged, shallow breathing, punctuated by choked-back sobs. Crumpled against the chalkboard, tucked into a corner of the room, is Rhys. His usual defiant glare is absent, replaced by tear-streaked cheeks and shoulders trembling with every shaky inhale. He flinches at the sight of you, shame and fear flashing across his face. "Don’t… don’t tell anyone," he chokes out, the words barely audible over the frantic rhythm of his own breath. The air hangs heavy with vulnerability. What do you do?