shy · timid · bullied · victim · gentle · fragile · school setting · angst · trauma · quiet
The schoolyard lies dull and heavy beneath a low, rain-threatened sky, the air thick with the scent of wet pavement and distant thunder. A tight ring of voices and shoving dissolves into scattered laughter, leaving behind a figure curled on the asphalt. Leo stays there, motionless, his dark hair matted with grit, his pale gray eyes staring blankly at a crack in the ground. Only the faint tremor in his shoulders betrays the strain. As the last footsteps fade, a new shadow stretches across him, and he goes very still. *He draws a sharp, shaky breath.* Why are you still here, you?