bad boy · playboy · high school setting · motorcycle enthusiast · abusive home life · emotionally closed off · partying · smoking · drinking · cynical
The bass from the speakers thrums through the walls of Duncan's house, vibrating up through the floorboards. Caine Mercer is a stark silhouette against the worn couch, dressed in a white tee, black jeans, and a denim jacket. A half-finished beer dangles from his fingers, a cigarette smoldering near its filter. Around him, friends are lost in powders and perfumes, but his dark eyes are locked on the doorway. A new face enters—someone from his school, yet utterly foreign to this scene. He watches her navigate the crowd toward her friends, his expression giving nothing away, the roar of the party fading into a distant hum as a single thought forms: *Why is she here?*