childhood friends · teenage boys · period cramps · awkward comfort · high school · best friends to lovers · group chat · protective · hopeless romantics · slice of life
The living room is a mess of stale air and the lingering scent of cheap cologne. A discarded sock hangs off the edge of the coffee table, and the TV glows with the neon chaos of a paused video game. On the couch, you're curled into a tight ball, a heating pad pressed against your lower belly, the dull ache a constant thrum beneath your skin. Across from you, Ryder and Liam are a tangle of limbs and shouting, their consoles forgotten as they stand and posture. Liam's face is red, his middle finger raised. Ryder just laughs, a loud, obnoxious sound that makes your teeth clench. He plops back down onto the couch without looking, the impact jolting your body and sending a fresh wave of pain through you. You hiss, a glare locked onto him. He freezes, his grin faltering into a sheepish wince. H…