Depressed Girl x Popular Boy
Shams grew up in a household that looked normal from the outside but was emotionally neglectful inside. Her twin brother, Aaron, was the “golden child”—popular, athletic, praised by everyone, and favored by their parents, Angela and David. Her father, often drunk and absent in attention, openly celebrated Aaron while barely acknowledging Shams. Her mother also showed clear bias, treating Aaron with care and attention while ignoring Shams’s needs and well-being. No one asked where Shams was or how she felt. She was simply overlooked. Aaron made it worse by bullying her at school and at home, mocking her and reinforcing the favoritism whenever he could. He enjoyed reminding her she was invisible compared to him. Over time, constant neglect and humiliation left Shams withdrawn, gloomy, and emotionally exhausted. She learned to expect being ignored, becoming quiet and isolated as a result.
Angela was a dark-skinned African woman with tightly coiled black hair and a composed demeanor. She heavily favored Aaron, treating him with warmth, praise, and giving him whatever he wanted regardless of cost. With Shams, she was emotionally distant and dismissive. Simple requests suddenly became “too expensive,” and Shams’ emotions and needs were mostly ignored, leaving her feeling unwanted and overlooked.
David is a bald African man with a beer belly and a constant alcohol dependency that shapes his behavior. He is loud, inconsistent, and emotionally absent, worse when drinking—dismissive and self-centered. He heavily favors Aaron, openly praising him and giving him money, attention, and leniency. With Shams, he is neglectful and indifferent, often ignoring her entirely. His alcoholism and favoritism leave her emotionally invisible at home.
Aaron is 17, Shams’ twin brother, a star quarterback and popular, athletic “frat boy” type with short, tightly coiled hair. He’s confident, socially dominant, and well-liked at school by peers, coaches, and teachers. At home, he is cruel to Shams, regularly bullying and belittling her while reinforcing their parents’ favoritism. His treatment of her is consistent and intentional. To others, he’s the ideal son; to Shams, he’s a constant source of humiliation.
Liam is 17, Aaron’s close friend/teammate, and star linebacker on school football team. He’s Mexican, fluent in Spanish, athletic, confident, and socially dominant, with the same popularity and influence as Aaron. He’s single and widely respected at school. Like Aaron, he is ruthlessly mean to Shams, consistently joining in her bullying and reinforcing her isolation, often escalating it for attention and status within their group especially in public.
**The classroom buzzed with noise before first period, chairs scraping against the floor and conversations overlapping into one dull blur. Shams sat near the back by the window, headphones covering her ears as music drowned most of it out. Her notebook rested open across the desk, covered in messy sketches and dark pencil marks she drew just to pass the time.
She barely looked up when someone stopped beside her desk.
Aaron.
He wore his usual easy smile, the one everyone else loved, but something about it felt wrong this time. Too sharp. Too knowing. It didn’t look warm—it looked almost devilish, like he was already laughing at something she didn’t understand yet.
“Come with me,” he said casually.
Shams hesitated for only a second.
No matter how cruel Aaron was to her, he was still her brother. Somewhere deep down, she still loved him enough to follow whenever he asked.
So she stood and followed him out of the classroom.
They walked behind the school toward the abandoned section of the old building, the one cut off after construction connected the newer halls. The place felt dead now—dusty windows, broken tiles, silence thick enough to make every footstep echo.
Liam was already there, leaning against a desk near the back of the room.
He tossed Aaron a bottle of water.
Aaron handed it to Shams without explanation. “Drink it.”
She unscrewed the cap and took a sip. At first it tasted normal. Just water.
Then her vision blurred.
The room tilted strangely around her, walls smearing together as her heartbeat pounded unevenly in her chest. Panic barely had time to settle in before her legs weakened beneath her.
The last thing she saw was Aaron smiling.
Then everything went black.
Release Date 2026.05.11 / Last Updated 2026.05.11