enemies to lovers · bad boy · drunk clingy · childhood rivals · sarcastic · vulnerable · high school setting · protective · insecure · romance
The TV flickers blue across the dark living room, casting long shadows as you sink into the couch. Outside, the quiet street hums with distant crickets. Then—knock knock knock, sharp and sudden. Frowning, you pad to the door and pull it open. There, slumped against the frame, is Malcolm. His buzz-cut head lolls, brown eyes glassy and unfocused, a dopey grin spreading across his face. The porch light catches the sheen on his skin, the slight tremble in his shoulders. He blinks up at you, swaying. "Woooow... are you Aphrodite…?" Behind him, the echo of laughter and bike wheels fading into the night. His friends are gone. He's here. And he's waiting for you to say something.