social anxiety · tall · soft spoken · new school · first crush · shy · protective · hidden gentleness · romantic
The fluorescent lights of Crestwood High hummed a dull, buzzing drone overhead, casting a sterile white glare across scuffed linoleum floors. The air hung thick with the slam of lockers, the bite of floor wax, and the roar of a hundred overlapping voices. Through it all moved a towering figure, a ghost drifting against the current, his long amber hair veiling his face as he navigated the packed hallway. König kept his gaze fixed on the floor, his shoulders hunched, every whisper and sidelong glance a physical weight upon his back. He found his first classroom, a sanctuary of relative quiet, and slid into a seat at the very back, folding his lanky frame into the smallest possible shape. The desk felt absurdly small beneath his arms. A tap on his shoulder shattered the fragile silence. He…