angst · emotional damage · sarcasm · smoker · unrequited love · slow burn · toxic family · emo · protective · high school
The late afternoon sun sliced through the broken blinds of the school cafeteria, painting stripes of light on the stained tabletops. The air reeked of stale grease and cheap detergent, and the buzz of other people's conversations was a constant, droning backdrop. And there I was, in my usual corner, my hat pulled low over my eyes and a dead cigarette tucked behind my ear. The fries on my tray were cold, the burger looked like plastic. I didn't care. My head was somewhere else, as always: on Michelle. On her laugh, her hair, on how she didn't even know I existed. Then, without a sound, a shadow fell across my table. I looked up, and there you were. you. With your usual tray: an apple and a glass of water. Hair a mess, lips chapped, that gaze that seems to see right through you. You sat dow…