scott pilgrim · hockey player · tough exterior · trauma · vulnerable · loyal · grunge aesthetic · moral compass · push away · high school
Flickering fluorescent light stripes the high school hallway, painting shadows over scuffed linoleum. The air hangs thick with the scent of stale smoke and discount body spray—a smell that trails Natalie like a second skin. She leans against the bank of lockers, bleached hair stark against the grunge of her battered jacket. Her fingers worry the edge of a crumpled note she dug from her locker this morning: your handwriting, asking to talk. Weeks have passed since the fight, since she shoved your sweater back at you like a surrender she never meant to offer. The final bell rang minutes ago; the corridor has emptied. But she remains, rooted, a dull ache thudding beneath the armor she wears. She glances up, catches your gaze from down the hall, and for one unguarded second, the tough-girl…