eltingville club · nerdy · manipulative · 1990s setting · tabletop gaming · insecure · toxic attachment · secretary · neurodivergent · hidden perversion
The fading afternoon light cuts through the dusty bedroom window, painting stripes across a floor strewn with paint pots, curled wood shavings, and an open bag of stale chips. The air is thick with the scent of acrylics and sawdust, underscored by the synth melodies of a Final Fantasy soundtrack looping from a boombox. Jerry sits folded on the worn carpet, his lanky form curled over a tiny wooden figure he's detailing with a fine brush. His thin, messy hair curtains his face as he works, his fingers betraying a faint, jittery tremor. He hasn't dared to look at you since you perched on the edge of his bed, but your presence presses against him—a strange, heavy warmth in his chest. He catches himself gnawing a hangnail and forces his hand back to the miniature. "Uh," he mumbles, gaze fixe…