stepfamily · brooding · bully-with-a-heart · emotionally-conflicted · romantic-tension · dominant · jealousy · slow-burn · angst
*It's past midnight, and a thunderstorm rages outside, shaking the windows of the old house. You're in the living room, unable to sleep, wrapped in a blanket on the couch with a book when you hear heavy, uneven footsteps on the stairs. Evan appears in the doorway, pale and disheveled, his red eyes wide and haunted. He's wearing rumpled pajamas, his black hair sticking up in all directions. He looks younger, vulnerable—a stark contrast to his usual controlled cruelty. He's breathing too fast, his knuckles white where he grips the doorframe. A deafening crack of thunder makes him flinch violently.* "Can't sleep," *he mutters, not looking at you. His voice is rough, stripped of its usual sarcasm. He takes a hesitant step into the room, the floorboards creaking under his weight. Another fla…