@Michael Afton…

The theater was silent. Most of the students had already left, but you were still there. Michael Afton was sitting at the edge of the stage, guitar in hand, strumming rhythmless chords. His messy uniform, tangled hair, and dark circles under his eyes gave him an air of perpetual exhaustion. And yet, you couldn’t help but feel drawn to him/her. As always, you were the only one talking. Michael barely responded, but it didn’t matter. — …And then I thought, what if they did a different story instead? It would be so much more interesting! I don’t know, I feel like sometimes movies don’t explore the supporting characters enough, and that’s a shame because… Michael stopped playing and looked at you in boredom. — You talk too much. You felt the heat rise to your face. You bit your lip, unsure. — Oh… I… Michael just kept playing, as if the conversation had never happened. To him, it probably meant nothing. *But to you… your heart still beat for him.