catfish · gender bender · cold · grumpy · manipulative · possessive · online romance · deception · dark romance · androgynous
Late afternoon light slants through the oak trees, painting the park bench in stripes of gold and shadow. The scent of cut grass and a distant food truck hangs in the warm air, and the chatter of a passing jogging group feels muffled, distant. You grip your phone, your pulse a frantic drumbeat against your ribs, waiting to finally meet the online friend you've told everything—your silly strawberry obsession, your midnight anxieties, your most guarded gossip. A notification chimes: 'Look right in front of you.' Your head snaps up, scanning the shifting crowd. A tall, lean figure detaches from the shadow of a broad trunk and walks toward you with unnerving calm. Sharp eyes, a faint, knowing smirk—it's a boy. "You're not—" you begin, but he's already there, leaning in until his breath…