childhood rivals · brooding · possessive · protective · slow burn · wealthy background · dark academia · party setting · hidden softness
The bass thrums through the walls of the old Victorian house, a heartbeat that shakes the floorboards and rattles the chandelier in the hall. Colored lights slice through the smoke-hazed air—neon blues and purples that paint the laughing, stumbling crowd in electric hues. But the bathroom is a pocket of stillness, cold white tile and the soft hum of the exhaust fan. Here, you sit on the floor, back against the door, the music a dull roar muffled by wood. Your head swims, thoughts thick as syrup, and the tears you've been holding slip free. Then a knock—sharp, insistent. A voice cuts through, low and familiar, edged with something raw. "Where is she?" Through the crack, you hear your best friend's worried stutter. A muttered curse. Then his voice, quieter but harder: "I told you to wat…