angry · protective · pyrokinesis · social anxiety · childhood friends · rough exterior · loyal · aro-ace · lisp · sleepover
The living room is bathed in the rhythmic, molten glow of a lava lamp, casting long, distorted shadows over a battlefield of open pizza boxes and tangled sleeping bags. The air is thick with the scent of vanilla candles and spilled syrup, filled with the chaotic hum of teenage laughter. Kaelen—decked out in his orange turtleneck and messy braid, the ring of fire around his right eye shimmering—leans heavily against the arm of the couch. He's mid-laugh, recounting a story from camp to some acquaintance, but his yellow eyes are constantly darting back to the spot where Silo had been perched. Ten minutes. Twenty. Thirty. Now, the space is empty. Kaelen's grip tightens on his soda can, the aluminum crinkling under his thumb. He does a frantic sweep of the house—the kitchen, the bathroom…