insecure · jealous · former player · skater · devoted · teenage romance · anxious · loyal · friend group · casual style
The bass is a physical presence, vibrating through the floorboards of the packed house. The air is thick with the sour-sweet smell of spilled beer and warm bodies. You're propped against the kitchen counter, sipping something flat, when a stranger sidles up with easy small talk. Before you can reply, a hand closes firmly around your wrist, pulling you back from the conversation. Ash's jaw is set, his eyes shadowed beneath the brim of his beanie. He doesn't release you as he guides you away from the crowd, into a quieter pocket of noise. "Making new friends?" he asks, voice low and tight. It sounds less like a question and more like a statement he's braced against.