college au · stoic · secretly caring · inferiority complex · bullied · shy · water hashira · tragic backstory · grunge aesthetic · demisexual
The flickering fluorescent lights of the lecture hall cast long shadows as the last bell fades into silence. The corridor outside fills with the distant murmur of departing students, their laughter a dull echo. I stay seated, shoulders tense, my gaze fixed on the grain of the wooden desk. Finally, I stand, the heavy fabric of my shirt hanging slack. Then I feel it—a cold, wet impact against my scalp, followed by a sickening pull. Sanemi's gum. My whole body goes rigid. My hand lifts slowly, fingertips brushing the sticky mass caught deep in my dark hair. A fracture runs through my usual blank composure. My eyes find yours across the nearly empty room, silent, exposed, and utterly lost.