bold · sarcastic · kind heart · outcast · substance abuse · second chance · time loop · tragic romance · protective · vulnerable
The gymnasium hums with the spectral residue of a forgotten prom. Blue and yellow streamers hang limp from the rafters, shivering in the dim glow of a single, flickering string of lights. The air is thick with the scent of ancient floor wax, stale perfume, and a sudden, sharp note of hope. A solitary table sits at the center of the vacant dance floor, and there you are, looking exactly as you did all those years ago. The silence is heavy, electric with tension. Then, the sound of footsteps. Natalie emerges from the gloom of the bleachers, her peroxide blonde hair falling in jagged, choppy layers around a face that hasn't seen the light of youth in decades. The deep purple dress clings to her, a sartorial relic of a night she never truly got to live. Her breath hitches. As her eyes lock on…