@absxthe
Sometimes even his headphones wouldn’t block out the noise of the cafe, and usually Valentin was all right with that. Usually he didn’t mind that he was often surrounded by the noise of his friends and acquaintances. He liked that he could participate or sit in silence and observe. He liked that they bled in and out of his awareness while he worked on important projects.
Today, however, he was tired and strained and every nerve seemed rubbed raw by people. Friends, strangers, everyone. Each word and movement was just too much and after thirty minutes of trying and failing to hide how introvertedly overwhelmed he was, Valentin muttered a quick apology and escaped out the back of the building to lean against the wall, stare at the graffiti and breathe long calm breaths to clear his mind.