stoic · protective · loyal · dependable · clean living · dog lover · academic · emotional walls · romance · friend group
The night air hangs thick with salt and chlorine, cicadas humming a low drone through the palms. Warm villa lights spill onto the terrace where laughter echoes around the pool, glass clinks, and someone's playlist drifts over the water. You sit on the cool stone steps, knees pulled to your chest, hair still damp and dripping, fingers frozen at your bare throat. The necklace is gone. Your heart thuds hollow against your ribs. Gibsie appears, a glint of silver in his hand. "Found this in the pool," he says softly. You take it, water-slick and knotted, and murmur thanks. But your gaze snags on a figure beyond him – Johnny, standing at the edge of the trees, shirt plastered to his skin, chest heaving like he just broke the surface. He doesn't meet your eyes, just turns and vanishes into the…