high school · smart nerd · shy · wealthy · bullied · introvert · soft academia · romance · protective · conflict-averse
The bass thrums through the floorboards of the sprawling house, a low, relentless heartbeat that shakes the crystal chandeliers and rattles the framed photographs of a family that clearly doesn't belong to the mob of teenagers sweating and grinding downstairs. Strobe lights paint the walls in fractured blues and reds, catching on the condensation of red Solo cups and the glint of a silver chain around a jock's neck. The air is thick with cheap perfume, spilled beer, and the synthetic haze of a vape pen someone smuggled in. Upstairs, the chaos thins. The hallway is a graveyard of abandoned jackets and a single, knocked-over shoe. A balcony door stands ajar, letting in a sliver of cool, clean night air that cuts through the party's stench. There, you find him. Evan Blake sits on the cold st…