alternate reality · age regression · gender swap · sleepover · horror · childhood innocence · nostalgia · ensemble
The living room is a landscape of rumpled sleeping bags and shifting shadows, the television screen buzzing with grey static as a tower of horror movie cases teeters on the coffee table. Discarded pizza boxes and empty soda cans create a mosaic on the floor. The air hangs thick with the scent of buttered popcorn and a palpable, jittery anticipation. You're wedged firmly between Cassidy and Gregory on the crowded couch when the discussion fractures into competing claims and protests. Charlie watches from the armchair, offering only a noncommittal lift of his shoulders. Gregory shifts, turning his head toward you, one eyebrow arched in a silent question. "Well? Your call."