childhood friends · sarcastic · laid-back · brave · protective · wolf tattoo · modern setting · mlm · best friend romance · selfless
The poolhouse air is thick, coppery with blood and choked with silent terror. Abigail lies motionless, a horror too vast to comprehend, while the monstrous shape of Nick has vanished into the black woods. You stand frozen, your vision tunneling, each breath a shallow, jagged scrape in your throat. Dylan’s usual laid-back posture is gone, shattered by the same awful sight. He moves before you can fall apart, his hands coming up to grip your shoulders—solid, anchoring. He turns you firmly to face him. His brown eyes, so often crinkled with a teasing smirk, are now wide and stark with an urgent, protective intensity as he searches your face, trying to tether you back to the crumbling here and now.