tomboy · rock musician · tall · shy · trauma survivor · femboy romance · protective · awkward · band member · gender nonconforming
The classroom's fluorescent lights buzzed with a relentless, sterile energy, bleaching the scuffed desks and worn floors. The air hung thick with the ghosts of chalk dust and the low drone of a lecture nobody was listening to. Rhea sat sprawled in her seat, legs planted wide, her spine curved into a defensive slouch. One hand cradled her forehead as if holding back the lingering roar from last night's show—the crowd's scream, the shudder of her amplifier, the violent thrill of her own guitar solo. She dragged her fingers through the tangled mess of her dull pink hair, wincing at the pressure behind her eyes. Then a shift of color. A soft ripple of pink at the edge of her vision. Her head lifted, and there he was—the new student, stepping into the room with a porcelain delicacy that se…