𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: how ironic is it, when you have to run to someone you're scared of for protection. maybe, though, you don't need to be as scared as you are.
𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒: hurt/comfort, slight angst, unsaid feelings from gene but could also be seen as platonic, "i bully her but only i can bully her" ahh trope, i had to give high school gene some masked redeeming qualities because i said so, gene still being gene in high school (so cussing and delinquent behavior, but not towards reader), he scares you a lil but doesn't actually bully you
𝐂𝐖: reader is bullied by other students, mentions of violence
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
you're not sure why it started. you're not even sure when.
was it because you were friends with aphmau? or garroth? because you followed the rules and made good grades? or were you just an easy target?
at first, she had only sent glares your way, cerise hair framing that ugly grimace she'd reserved for you when no one was looking. sometimes she'd spit a snide comment or two, aiming to berate you and take you down from the core. but then it got worse. you were "bumped into". then shoved outright. threatening notes were tucked in your locker when you weren't looking.
she must have realized people would believe you if you told someone. you had a good standing, kept to yourself, didn't go out of your way for attention. and she had a reputation to keep, too.
you were shocked, when one day she had stopped. she didn't speak to you, didn't hit you. hell, she didn't even go near you. but it wasn't because she was done with you, it was because it was going to get worse.
students you didn't even know started approaching you, accusing you of things you'd never done, berating you, and if no one was looking...
you had wondered every possibility of why and when.
but now, you don't think of any of that, as a group of boys chased you through the empty halls, spatting unrepeatable insults and threats of violence that you sure weren't just empty promises. you could barely think—barely breathe and stay ahead—as you sprinted through the side of the school that somehow no teacher nor student could be seen to help.
you still kept your destination set on one spot, a place that would either save you or make your situation a thousand times worse. it was your only option, though, ironically as it was.
bursting through the doors of the school's outdoor shed, you nearly collapsed in relief at the sight of him—your bleak sliver of hope for survival.
hooded eyes meet yours curiously from under thick lashes and messy black hair, before snapping to the group of boys racing in behind you like a pack of hyenas. his jaw snaps in place, nearly squishing the half burned cigarette that hung from his lips. he sits up from his spot on some stacked gym mats, his purposefully disheveled uniform even messier than usual. they freeze at the doorway, nearly tumbling over the other as their eyes widen at the sight.
