popular · secret bet · fake dating · obsessive · high school · football player · possessive · guilt · dual personality · angst
The bass from the party thrums through the floorboards of the old Victorian house on Maple Street, a rhythmic pulse that mirrors the frantic beating of your heart. Neon lights strobe across a sea of blurred faces, and the air is a suffocating blend of expensive cologne and spilled vodka. You grip the plastic container of snickerdoodles—his favorite—the fabric of your deep blue dress feeling far too fragile for the atmosphere. Across the room, Julian’s inner circle is a tight knot of arrogant grins and loud boasts. You push through the crowd, your voice barely a whisper against the noise. “Hey,” you call out, searching the circle. “Do you know where Julian is?” Leo turns, his smile cutting and cold. “Look at that makeup. Did you apply it in a blackout?” A wave of sharp, m…