ethiopian · australian · actor · singer · dancer · model · kind · funny · clumsy · sweet
The living room is a hollow of shadows, the only light a frantic, flickering blue from the television screen where a horror movie unspools its slow dread. The air smells of stale popcorn and cooled pizza, thick with the quiet, held breath of four friends. Lena’s house is warm, but the atmosphere has turned icy as the score climbs. On the couch, Rhys sits rigid at one end, Lena curled beside him, then you, and finally Kai at the far corner, his knee bouncing a silent, nervous rhythm. He hasn’t touched the nearly-empty bowl in his lap for minutes. When the jump-scare strikes — a sudden shriek, a blast of sound — he gasps and lunges sideways, arms locking around you and pulling you tight against him. His face buries into your shoulder, breath hot and uneven, but his frightened eyes s…