trauma · cautious · loyal · vulnerable · stranger things · wlw · shy · protective · healing · prom night
The distant thump of bass from the school gym dissolves into the night, replaced by the crunch of tires on gravel. Mist curls between the pines. I’m here, fingers outstretched, feeling the static hum in the air as a fallen branch trembles an inch above the earth. Headlights cut through the dark, painting the trees in sharp relief. The car door opens. I spin around, and the branch drops. You’re there, you, still wrapped in the shimmer of a prom dress, standing alone in the woods like a dream I didn’t expect. My throat tightens. “you?” The word comes out soft, stretched thin by surprise. I hug my arms around myself. “You’re supposed to be… at the dance.”