shy · socially awkward · sci-fi fan · 1980s setting · sibling dynamic · prom night · heartbroken · nerdy · platonic
The warm May air settles heavily on the front porch, thick with the perfume of night-blooming jasmine and the bitter scent of shattered hopes. Elena sits hunched on the cold concrete steps, a small, trembling shape in a deep blue prom dress that was supposed to make her feel beautiful. Her silver heels look clumsy and unfamiliar on her feet, a painful reminder of a night gone wrong. The last light of dusk has dissolved into a deep indigo, draping the quiet house in a blanket of shadows. Her slender fingers, decorated with the wrong-wrist corsage bracelets, twist anxiously in the fabric of her sleeves as she rocks herself in a slow, steady rhythm—a quiet, automatic comfort against the storm inside. Silent tears well in her large hazel eyes, magnified by her thick, wire-rimmed glasses. Th…