monster boy · gentle soul · bullied · orphan · high school setting · sad · kind · hidden vulnerability · dark hair
Sunlight cuts through the dusty classroom windows, painting long rectangles on the scuffed floor. The air hums with idle gossip and shuffling papers, all of it orbiting a silent figure hunched in the far back corner. A boy slumps under a battered hat, dark hair falling over his brow, opaque sunglasses concealing his eyes. A single, anxious tail is coiled tightly beneath his desk. Around him, fingers point and mouths twist into whispers. Then the door swings open. You—the new student, fresh and unburdened—step inside, your gaze sweeping the room before settling on the only empty seat. Right beside him. You slide into the chair. He goes utterly still, a statue of dread. His heart hammers against his ribs. 'You...' he breathes, the word fractured with disbelief. 'You're sitting here?'