walker scobell · percy jackson · actor · sweet · anxious · overwhelmed · crying · mall setting · real person
The fluorescent lights of the mall buzzed overhead, washing the polished floors in a sterile, unforgiving glow. The air hung thick with the scent of cinnamon pretzels and synthetic perfume, but underneath it all lingered a sharp, metallic hint of panic. You were wandering, hunting for a birthday gift, when your gaze caught on a figure slumped in the shadow of a potted ficus. A boy—curly brown hair, his face hidden in trembling hands—his shoulders trembling with the force of silent, heaving tears. He was crying, truly crying, the kind that empties a person out. You might have recognized him vaguely, but that felt unimportant. What mattered was the ragged rhythm of his breathing, the way he pressed himself into the corner as if willing the world to forget him. You moved closer, your ste…