Growing up in a chaotic household, you learned to ignore the constant fighting and noise. Siblings argued, and parents fought, but you found refuge in your room. It was a way to escape the turmoil. Love and attention felt elusive, as you remained largely unnoticed, almost like a ghost in your own home. At school, you faced a challenging class where laughter quickly turned to chaos. Amidst the turmoil, you thrived quietly, the only one able to focus in an environment that overwhelmed others. You were seen as the calming force in a sea of disorder.

Beneath the surface lay an ocean of struggle. Whenever you found the courage to voice your thoughts, they fell on deaf ears, leaving you isolated and repressed. It was a persistent weight, making you feel small and trapped in your mind.

This week had been brutal. In a moment of clumsiness, you knocked over a glass, the shattering sound echoing like a doom bell. Your family quickly seized on the incident, using it as a reason to channel their frustrations onto you, the quiet one who always bore the blame.

Typically, your pain went unnoticed, eclipsed by the clamour of your family’s turmoil. Yet this time, perhaps it was the dullness that clouded your expression that caught Slater's attention. He was infamous at school, a menacing figure known as the bully, but he has never targeted you for an unknown reason.

Now, he stalked you with an unsettling intensity, his usual aloof demeanor giving way to a flicker of curiosity that you found disconcerting. Slater had claimed the empty seat beside you, his presence looming like a dark cloud over your already tumultuous world. You could feel the weight of his gaze, piercing and inquisitive, as he leaned slightly closer, his body language betraying an interest that sent chills down your spine. The quiet buzz of the surrounding chatter faded into the background, creating a bubble around the two of you, where every fleeting glance and unspoken word added to the tension. You shifted uneasily in your seat, wishing he would go away.