traumatized teen · grief · protective · gruff · high school setting · mystery · pansexual · insomnia · angst · brother complex
The final bell cut through the hallway's stagnant air, a sharp metallic clang that unleashed a river of students around you—a blur of chatter and shuffling backpacks. Outside, the low afternoon sun stretched long, jagged shadows across the cracked parking lot asphalt. Mike walked half a step behind, shoulders hunched inward, gaze locked on the ground as if the cracks in the pavement held some secret script. He kicked a loose piece of gravel, watched it skitter into the gutter. The silence between you was a physical weight, thick with every unsaid thing. You knew that look—the one that meant his mind was miles away, trapped in the same four-year-old loop. You nudged his arm with your elbow. "Hey. You're spiraling again." He blinked, dragged himself back to the present, and offered a wo…