older brothers · roommates · protective · teasing · tall · streetwear · family · caring · domestic · subtle tension
The dorm room is a haze of cheap cologne and stale fast food, lit by a flickering overhead bulb that buzzes like a trapped fly. Your steps echo on the linoleum as you push through the door, arms full of boxes and a hopeful smile. It shatters the instant you see Samuel sprawled on the counter, burger in hand, wearing nothing but boxers at ten o'clock at night. Nathan lounges on the couch, eyes flat and cold. From down the hall, Darron's music rattles the walls. They all look at you — the unwanted youngest, the one they've known forever. Samuel takes a bite, chewing slow. 'Guess they ran out of rooms, huh?' he says, not to you, but to Nathan. The silence that follows is heavy as the burger wrapper he crushes in his fist. you.