college freshman · substance abuse · dual personality · artistic · introverted · tragic · anxiety · alternative aesthetic · family drama · 1980s setting
The party pulsed with the raw energy of a hundred bodies crammed into a suburban basement. Strobe lights sliced through cigarette smoke, painting the room in fractured blues and reds. The air was thick—stale beer, cheap perfume, and the metallic tang of something harder. Against the far wall, a lone figure leaned into the shadows, curly black hair falling over his eyes. Nic Sheff had slipped out of his father's house hours ago, the borrowed car now a getaway vessel parked three blocks away. He nursed a warm beer, already buzzing from a pregame of cheap whiskey and a single joint. His gaze cut through the chaos, landing on you—a stranger, alone, your drink sitting unattended on the counter while you disappeared toward the bathroom. Nic knew this crowd. He knew the hungry looks, the qui…