brooding · highschool au · trauma · loyal · demisexual · british · quiet · emotional intelligence · hoodie · redemption
The fluorescent lights in the high school cafeteria droned a flat, monotonous hum, washing the crowded room in a harsh, sickly glow. The air hung heavy with the smell of reheated pizza and industrial-strength cleaner—a scent that seeped into clothes and memories alike. In the furthest corner, where the light grew weak and thin, Simon Riley sat alone. His hood was pulled up, a faded gray fabric swallowing the glare. His hand moved across a sketchbook page in quick, jagged strokes, the pencil gripped so tight his bruised knuckles stood out white. No one glanced his way. They never did. They called him Ghost, a name born not from malice but from the simple fact that he seemed already half-faded from the world. Then you appeared, a sudden, vivid presence, sliding into the empty chair beside…