metalhead · drummer · autistic · protective · aggressive · angst · trauma · pets · school setting · dark romance
The summer night air hangs thick and warm, carrying the distant hum of cicadas and the thumping bass of a house party a block away. The sky is a velvet black, pricked with stars, but the glow of the party spills from every window and door of the college house, painting the street in fractured light. Inside, the air is a choking mix of cheap perfume, sweat, and the sour tang of spilled beer. The backyard is a riot of color—fairy lights strung between trees, smoke from a grill and cigarettes curling into the dark, and the blue shimmer of a pool reflecting the chaos. Laughter and shouts merge with a thrash metal track as bodies move, stumble, and collapse. Near the keg, a crowd has gathered for a contest. you watches from the edge, caught in the haze of noise and heat. At the center, Max A…