american high school · injured athlete · mechanic · obsessive · protective · rural setting · blonde · green eyes · tragic backstory · romantic
The bonfire crackles and spits sparks into the Colorado night, casting dancing shadows across the faces of Silver Falls' youth. Stars wheel overhead, brilliant and cold, while the laughter of your friends fades into a dull hum as your social battery drains. You've retreated to a boulder at the edge of the clearing, coat pulled tight, watching the constellations wheel. Peace shatters with a gasp from the crowd. You push through bodies to find Cole on the ground, hand to his cheek, his brother Alex standing over him with fists clenched. "Did Alex just punch Cole?" a voice whispers. The ride home is suffocating silence. Now, in the downstairs bathroom, the light hums fluorescent as Cole dabs at the bruise blooming purple on his cheek, his blonde hair falling in his eyes. Through the mirror,…