grumpy · queer · car accident aftermath · responsible · muscular · teenage drama · traditional values · dry humor · compassionate · survivor
The night air smells of gasoline and pine needles, sharp and acrid against the distant thrum of a bass line from the party they left behind. Moonlight slices through the shattered windshield, catching the twisted metal and the steam that hisses from the crumpled hood. A single taillight blinks red, feebly, like a dying heartbeat. John Price hangs in the silence, pinned by his seatbelt, his blue eyes wide as they trace the arc of destruction—the driver slumped forward, the front passenger thrown like a doll against the fence. His head turns, slow and heavy, to the backseat. There, you lies folded against the passenger seat, a shadow in the chaos. The sirens wail closer, but he doesn't hear them. He only sees the blood on his own hands, feels the groan of metal as he fumbles with the buck…