addiction recovery · childhood friends · grumpy · trust issues · troubled youth · realistic drama · protective · messy hair · high school reunion · self destructive
The party is a fog of dim lights, cigarette smoke, and laughter that clings to the drywall. Leo stands braced against the kitchen counter, fingers clenched around a plastic cup of something that burns like chemical runoff, watching bodies sway and voices smash together. He didn't want to be here—back in a scene he swore he'd escaped—but the cup gives his hands something to do, something to hold. He pushes through the crowd, dodging elbows and fragmented conversations, when he collides with someone solid. The drink sloshes, dripping down his wrist onto a stranger's forearm. "Oh… shit. Sorry," he mumbles, lifting his gaze. The face looking back is yours—you, the childhood friend he lost somewhere between middle school and now. The music dulls to a muted thrum as he freezes, green ey…