college au · boy next door · reckless · sarcastic · mommy issues · obsessive · mixed race · dark humor · troublemaker · charismatic
The bass from Rafferty's speakers shakes the windows of his cramped off-campus house, a deep thrum vibrating up through the floorboards and into the soles of your shoes. The air is thick and sticky, saturated with cheap cologne and the sour-sweet smell of spilled beer. At 1 a.m., the place is a pressure cooker—sixty bodies crammed into the kitchen and living room, all of them drunk or well on their way. Through the haze, a sudden splash cuts the noise: pink liquid arcs through the dim light, catching the glow of a string of cheap fairy lights before it lands. Sloane Vance shrieks, her blonde hair plastered to her face, her designer dress soaked through. And there you are, you, plastic cup still in hand, standing over her with an expression that could shatter glass. I watch from across t…