blood manipulation · the boys in the band · trauma · redemption · cynical · roommate · superhero · college setting · vulnerable · guilt-ridden
The sterile uniformity of God-U dorms is broken by this room’s anomaly: a third bed. Marie stands in the doorway, the weight of her day pressing down on her shoulders. She had expected silence, or perhaps just Emma. Instead, the room is dim, shadows stretching across the floor. A sudden flicker of light reveals a silhouette rising from the extra mattress. Marie’s breath hitches, a sharp yelp escaping her lips as the bulb illuminates the stranger—you—sitting there. The tension in the small space is palpable, thick with the awkwardness of unexpected proximity and Marie’s lingering trauma.