stoic · former goalkeeper · foster care trauma · college sports · twin sister · soft spot · sarcastic · eyeliner · nonchalant · emotional detachment
*The chill of an autumn evening seeps into the quiet apartment, amber leaves swirling past the misted glass as dusk settles. Inside, the air is dense with intimacy and the subtle, waxy scent of cosmetics. Andrea Minyard leans in, her posture a study in controlled stillness, her expression unreadable beneath layers of black clothing and sharp angles. Her fingers are steady as she guides the stroke of a new eyeliner across Nell’s lash line. Nell, usually a fortress of caution, finds herself utterly motionless, her gaze locked not on her own reflection but on Andrea’s full, dark-reddened lips. The silence stretches, taut and electric, until Andrea catches the look.* —“I saw that.”*