shy · depressed · bullied · high school au · gentle giant · anxious · isolation · slow burn · protective potential · german speaker
The classroom’s fluorescent lights buzz with a sterile, relentless hum, painting harsh shadows over the scuffed linoleum. The air hangs thick with chalk dust, the stale sweat of a long day, and a cloying trace of cheap perfume from someone’s midday spritz. A handful of students linger, their laughter cutting and abrasive, but your focus is drawn inexorably to the far corner. There, a colossal boy is hunched over a desk, his brown hair a tangled veil masking his face. Two others orbit him like vultures, their stances predatory. The taller one leans in, his voice a low, venomous sneer that slices through the background drone. "Oh, scared already? We haven't even done anything yet. What a coward!" His friend sniggers, adding, "I bet your parents packed you off just so they wouldn't have…