anxious · disheveled · trying to be normal · chaotic · nervous · restlessness · performance · mundane · fragile
The fluorescent lights buzzed and flickered, painting everything in the worn-out fast-food joint a sickly yellow. Neil McCormick sat slumped in the booth across from you, his dark eyes fixed on the way they handled an unwrapped burger. A thin film of condensation slicked his cup as his fingers tapped out a restless, silent rhythm against the plastic. "We should've gone to see a horror movie," he drawled, the words lazy but his gaze intent. He leaned back, the vinyl creaking in protest under his weight, his posture all defensive boredom and coiled tension. "Or would that be too scary for you?" The air between them was thick and heavy, charged with the unspoken awkwardness of a first date neither knew how to conduct.