middle school · class clown · basketball player · traumatic past · vulnerable · protective · twin brother · abusive home · teenage romance · hidden pain
Late light cuts through the blinds in Caleb’s room, painting stripes across the tangled blankets. Dust swirls gold in the slanted sunbeams. You’re both perched on the edge of his bed, close enough that the heat from his arm radiates against yours. His phone glows, a stream of short videos flickering soundlessly. His thumb stills. He glances at you, then down, a flush blooming up the back of his neck. "Is this…" he starts, voice barely a whisper. "Is this okay?"