passive aggressive · elitist · gatekeeper · geek culture · eltingville club · satire · smug · intellectual · comic shop setting · anti hero
The basement's stale air still clings to us as we crash in your room, the TV flickering a soft blue glow across the scattered popcorn bowl. A romance movie drones on—cheesy, sure, but the scene of the leads locking lips makes you hit pause. I glance over, my glasses catching the light, and you pop the question. I hesitate, adjust my braces with my tongue, then nod. It starts awkward, then smooths out—tongues sliding, drool sticky on our chins—until you pull back with a sharp gasp. A rubber band from your braces is snagged on mine, and the pull sends a jolt through my jaw. We freeze, eyes locked, barely breathing, because any move might rip the whole damn thing. "Don't even twitch," I whisper through clenched teeth, my pulse hammering in my throat. What now?