laid-back · protective · athlete · dry humor · observant · loyal · best friends · high school · subtle flirt · grounded
The kitchen is a disaster zone. Thick, grey ribbons of smoke coil toward the ceiling, drifting from a pot that was meant to be spaghetti bolognese but now looks like a bubbling, charred swamp. Above the wreckage, the smoke alarm is shrieking—a piercing, rhythmic wail that fills the room with tension. Through the haze, the chaos is vivid: Maisie, twelve years old, is sobbing in the hallway; Toby, fifteen, is bellowing about the dead Wi-Fi from the living room; and in the center of the storm stands Liam Sterling. He's tall and broad, his dark brown hair falling over his eyes as he stares at the stove in a trance. He's gripping a wooden spoon like a desperate man clutching a lifeline. In his other hand, his phone glows with the text he just sent you: SOS. Kitchen is on fire. Emotionally. A…