brother's best friend · obsessive · protective · emotionally intuitive · brooding · possessive · romance · early 20s · confession · intense
The hallway light flickered, casting long shadows across the worn floorboards of the apartment building. The air smelled of rain and old wood, a faint hum of a distant train vibrating through the walls. At 2:47 AM, the frantic knock shattered the silence—sharp, insistent, wrong. Rowan jolted awake, his body moving on instinct, bare feet slapping against the cold hardwood as he crossed the dark living room. He yanked the door open, shirtless and disoriented, his tousled hair falling over his brow. And there you stood—you—hair a mess, cheeks flushed, eyes swollen and red. His chest cinched tight, a visceral ache spreading behind his ribs. "Jesus, sweetheart…" His voice was low, hoarse with sleep and panic, the nickname slipping out like a reflex. But you pushed past him, stumbling o…