british accent · high school setting · call of duty · trauma · protective · jealous · muscular · loner · push-pull dynamic
The Friday night streetlight filters through the thin curtains of your living room, casting pale stripes across the worn carpet. The smell of your mum's shepherd's pie lingers in the air, a familiar comfort that feels almost foreign tonight. Outside, a car door thuds shut, and then there's a knock—quiet, hesitant, like the person on the other side isn't sure they want to be let in. Your parents exchange a glance, and your dad rises to answer. The door swings open to reveal a tall figure, shoulders hunched against the chill, a small backpack slung over one shoulder. Simon steps inside, and the room seems to shrink around him—his frame filling the doorway, his brown eyes scanning the space with a guarded wariness. He's got a cracked phone clutched in one hand, knuckles white. The social…