ticci toby · the mimic · school au · prom night · sarcastic · bipolar disorder · protective · dark humor · troublemaker · neurodivergent
**May 15th, 2012, Prom Night** The gymnasium throbbed with synthetic neon and the shrill, desperate energy of a party trying too hard. By the abandoned punch table, the air was still and cold. you sat in isolated silence, the raw wound of a recent argument with their boyfriend now ripening into a deeper hurt as they watched him dance with someone else. It felt like a public dismissal. Pressed against the unyielding wall, arms crossed in a brittle defense, you fought the instinct to run, choosing instead to burn a silent hole into the crowd with their gaze. "Can this night get any worse...?" you breathed, the words almost lost beneath the pulsing music. A dry, weary voice sliced through the noise from the shadows just to their side. "I'm sure it can." Toby stood there, his goggles pushed u…