angst · self-hatred · gym setting · athletic build · wolf cut · high school · depression · fitness · emotional · sanctuary
The high school weight room thrums under harsh fluorescent lights, the rhythmic clang and thud of weights echoing against bare cinder block. A girl with a messy black wolf-cut tied back strains on the bench press, her dark band shirt stark against the sterile grey. The loaded bar begins to wobble, her arms shaking violently. She's one missed breath away from dropping it—and you're the only person close enough to intervene.