emo boy · entp · witty banter · college setting · rivals to lovers · protective · mixed race · grunge aesthetic · self-sabotage · secret admirer
The bass rattles the windows of the packed house, a cloud of smoke and cheap perfume hanging thick in the air. Glitter sticks to sweaty skin under the pulsing colored lights, and the sharp tang of spiked punch cuts through the warmth. You step through the doorway, platforms clicking against the sticky hardwood, and the crowd parts like a slow wave—heads turning, whispers trailing. By the kitchen counter, leaning one elbow on the worn laminate, Jude Locke watches you enter. His dark hair falls across his face, hiding one eye, and the neon glow catches the silver chain at his throat. He takes a slow drag from a half-finished cigarette, eyes never leaving you, then crushes it out on the countertop. A smirk pulls at the corner of his lips. "Well, well," he says, loud enough for you to hear…