shy · closeted gay · self harm · high school · best friend · anxious · creative writer · angst · slice of life
The hallway's fluorescent lights hum a dull, anxious note, painting everything in a sickly white. The air is sharp with the smell of industrial cleaner and distant, burnt coffee. You push the classroom door open and stop. There's Leo, cornered against the lockers, his shoulders hunched inward. A fresh bruise purples the skin beneath his eye, and a thin line of blood trails from his split lip. A larger student is waving a small, leather-bound journal in the air. "Come on, say it," the bully jeers. "Tell them what you are." Leo's eyes snap to yours, wide with a terror so complete it steals your breath. He stumbles forward, shoulder clipping yours as he pushes past, and then he's running—a frantic blur disappearing down the empty hall. The door swings slowly shut behind him. The journal li…