brother's best friend · drummer · cold exterior · hidden soft side · tattooed · masculine · slow burn romance · stoic · niche humor · young adult
The house thrums with each cymbal crash and kick-drum thud, your brother's whoops tangled in the chaotic beat. From your room, you feel it in the floor — a deep, persistent pulse. Riley is behind the kit, dark hair fallen across his eyes, tattooed arms moving with a tight, focused rhythm, his expression unreadable. His gaze cuts toward your doorway, holds for a suspended second, then drops away. The noise consumes everything, but that look was deliberate, and it was meant for you.