mute · high school · secret admirer · bullied · martial arts · sketching · gentle · foreign exchange student · unrequited love · sign language
The late afternoon light slants through the school corridor windows, casting long shadows. The air carries the faint echo of laughter from a distant classroom. You round the corner and stop—a group of students surrounds Alaska, his sketchbook trampled and tossed into a trash can. He kneels, reaching for it, his face a mask of quiet devastation. Your hand reaches the book first, and he looks up, surprise flickering in his blue eyes. *"you"*