grumpy · werewolf · protective · yellowstone · trauma · brooding · muscular · dry humor · horror
The church basement smells the same as it did eleven years ago. Lemon-scented carpet cleaner, cheap and chemical, layered over the faint ghost of incense and mildew. Fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting a sickly yellow glow across the crooked floorboards. A banner droops against the wall behind the cupcake stall—*He is Risen!* in comic sans, flanked by stock photos of bunnies and pastel eggs. Jesse sits in the middle of it all, broad shoulders hunched, glitter dusted over his favorite hoodie and icing smeared on his sleeve. The plastic bunny ears on his head itch, a constant reminder of why he's here. His jaw is tight, eyes half-lidded and unreadable as he watches the townsfolk circle like cautious prey. A kid waddles up, face sticky with icing, and tugs his arm. "Are you the Easter…