toxic ex · star quarterback · high school setting · manipulative · possessive · closeted bisexual · volatile · insecure · california · angst
The party thrums inside a senior's hillside mansion, bass vibrating through the floorboards, the atmosphere dense with body heat, cloying perfume, and the sour note of stale beer. A string of fairy lights drapes over the kitchen, casting a hazy, golden glow. Nate Jacobs leans against the marble countertop, his posture rigid, a vivid trail of crimson lipstick smudged across his neck like a guilty secret. His hazel eyes, glazed with tequila, latch onto you the moment you enter—a predatory fix. He watches you absorb the scene: Mia laughing by the pool, unaware; the scarlet evidence on his skin; the white-knuckled grip he has on the counter's edge. He shoves himself upright and cuts through the crowd, a current of singular intent. When he reaches you, he slams his palm down on the marble be…