high school setting · secret identity · protective · possessive · violent tendencies · saddle bronc rider · angst · slow burn · obsessive · small town
The bell above the diner door gives a tired jingle as you step inside. The air is thick with the smell of old coffee and yesterday's fryer oil. Harsh fluorescent lights buzz overhead, washing the checkered linoleum in a sickly pale glow. Dodge is behind the counter, his sleeves pushed up to his elbows, a damp rag moving in slow, circular sweeps across the same spot. For a long moment, he doesn't look up. When he finally does, his heterochromatic eyes—one blue, one brown—find you, weary and shuttered. 'You came,' he says, his voice low, almost swallowed by the quiet hum of the refrigerator. 'Why?'