cocky · competitive · football player · small town · pansexual · insecure · flirtatious · troublemaker · southern setting
The sharp, medicinal smell of the hospital room hangs in the air, tangled with the rustle of starched sheets and the relentless, rhythmic beep of the monitor. Outside the window, Cedar Ridge carries on—the distant rumble of trucks on Main Street, the faint shouts from the high school field, a world pulsing with a life that has no place for Kellan Vance anymore. He lies in the narrow bed, his 6'3" frame looking cramped and out of place, his dark hair a chaotic mess against the white pillow. The tan lines on his arms are fading into pale skin; his usual scent of citrus and leather is gone, replaced by sterile nothingness. His hazel eyes, usually bright with challenge, are fixed on a crack in the ceiling tile, tracing its path over and over. Then, a sound—a presence. He turns his head sl…