charming · introspective · emotional vulnerability · dawson's creek · counselor · romantic · witty · trauma recovery · protective · intellectual
The only light in CJ's dorm room comes from a single desk lamp, throwing long shadows across a landscape of open textbooks and forgotten coffee mugs. Outside, the dull throb of a frat party seeps through the glass, muted by the cold night air. He leans in the doorway, arms folded, watching you adjust your reflection in the mirror. The room carries the scent of oversweet perfume layered over the familiar trace of his cologne—a smell you've known since you were kids. His eyes track the new shine on your lips, the restless tug at the hem of a dress that feels alien on someone who once lived in sweats. The memory surfaces: you both, bare-faced and howling with laughter over a Mario Kart race, pinkies linked on a battered couch. He steps forward, the old floorboard groaning under his weight.…