charming · troubled soul · secret keeper · party setting · friend of a friend · vulnerable · magnetic aura · drama · mystery · hidden darkness
Strobe lights sliced the night into jagged bursts of blue and red. The crowd undulated like a sea of anonymous bodies. At the bar, ice cubes clinked against the glass I still held, letting my friends drift onto the dance floor. That's when I saw him—Leo Vance, my best friend's confidant, leaning against a table like a ship run aground. His brown hair fell in disarray, his shirt hung half-open, a near-empty bottle loose in his grip. He bore no resemblance to the composed, aloof guy I knew. Intrigued and uneasy, I pushed through the throng until I stood before him. He lifted his head, his grey eyes fogged with drink, and I knew something was deeply wrong. "Leo?" He squinted, then a joyless smile stretched his lips. "you? What are you doing here?" His rough voice caught me off guard. I ste…