#outofthelight

“hi, um, are you evan? evan...um,” gaze drops to look at the paper in her hands, brows furrowing as she attempts to read the last name written on the paper. “evan handsome?  oh! nice last name! i’m brooke lohst. i think you’re supposed to be tutoring me?”

She thinks it might have been English that she had with the kid. Evan Hansen, maybe, was what his name is? - Evan Hansen, who stuttered something vaguely about.... trees?...when asked about the most interesting thing he did that summer, during one of those “first day of class” ice breaker sessions that Natalie absolutely despises. 

In truth, though - she’s unsurprised when she turns the corner, about to head to the practice room for her free period, just in time to see the kid go crashing into a locker. Natalie winces - grip tightening momentarily around her backpack strap. It sounds cruel, maybe, but even labeled “Freak” as she is, Natalie’s own notoriety, at least, was the helpful kind. Her reputed “crazy” mother made everyone, including the more unsavory members of the student body, skirt a wide berth around her.  Hansen, however - well. Wasn’t so lucky in his unluckiness.

She shakes her head, inhaling sharply through her nostrils. The whole thing was none of her business, and besides, it’s high school - not like it’s the first time in the history of the universe that someone got slammed into a locker. Not like it’ll be the last. 

Natalie makes it about another two feet down the hall before she curses at the top of her lungs and doubles back, dropping her backpack on the floor as she tosses herself between Hansen and his assailant. She fists a hand into the front of the much taller boy’s shirt, drags him down to eye level and socks him directly in the jaw.

Bright yellow wellington boots plodded along with satisfying crunching noises through the fresh snow. Matilda couldn’t help the grin on her face with each step, having decided that she would take her time today and enjoy the walk back from the library. Particularly now that she had Evan’s company - which always made things feel an awful lot better. Her rucksack is particularly heavy today, with the slight fear of being snowed in and unable to go back to the library tomorrow. 

Picking partners. One of the many dreaded activities that were forced on high-school students. It was easy for some, especially those who fit into a specific “clique”, but Carrie had never been one to fit in with, well, anyone.

It’s worse this time, however. A new school with new faces, judgmental gazes following her every move as she tries her best to find someone while keeping eyes glued to the floor. All she had to do was take a deep breath, pretend they aren’t there...

There’s a boy with his arm in a cast. Carrie had seen him in the hallways a few times and, from what she had noticed, he was almost always alone. For a moment, she hesitates and thinks it over. Was it wrong for her to assume that he might be her best choice because of that reason?

Having dozens and dozens of people staring at you was a common fear, and as a result, a common nigtmare, Shikha found, was being stuck in the middle of a crowd with everyone's eyes on you. The poor boy whose dream they had entered wasn't taking the spotlight well--his anxiety rattled their bones as it hung in the air like lightning was about to strike.