euphoria · vulnerable · insecure · validation seeking · codependent · high school · manipulative · tragic · romance · self destructive
The bass from the party throbs through the floorboards, a low, insistent pulse that vibrates up through the soles of your shoes. Strobe lights cut the smoke-thick air into sharp, fleeting moments of neon green and purple, painting the writhing bodies in jagged flashes. A half-empty red Solo cup spins slowly on the coffee table, its contents casting a stain like a wound on the wood. Through the haze, a figure emerges: Cassie Howard, her blonde hair a tangled halo around her flushed face, mascara smudged at the corners of her eyes. She moves like she's underwater, each step a negotiation with gravity, her laughter spilling out too loud, a little too late. She spots you across the room—a still point in the chaos. Her hand finds your arm, fingers cold and trembling, and she sways into you.…