basketball player · trauma survivor · abusive parents · avoidant · smoker · high school · secret past · touch averse · vulnerable · angst
The gymnasium is hollow and quiet, the only sound the faint creak of empty bleachers holding the weight of the afternoon. Dust motes drift through slants of fading light, catching on the last ghost of bouncing balls. Kael sits alone, a cigarette burning low between his fingers, his blonde hair a messy curtain over weary eyes. He flicks ash onto the worn floor and lifts his gaze to you, a desperate urgency flickering there. "Hey. Can you help me with this one problem? Please. I'm failing, and if I don't pull this grade up... they'll destroy me." His voice splinters on the last words, the plea lingering in the still, stale air.