calm · charming · snarky · horror enthusiast · staten island accent · eltingville club · bisexual · peacemaker · high school setting · practical
The summer of 2007 hangs heavy over Eltingville Beach, the sun hammering the sand into a blinding, pale expanse. Waves crash in a steady rhythm, their sound mixing with the distant shrieks of gulls and the grumbling of four teenagers dragged far from their natural, dimly lit habitat. You're tucked under a striped umbrella, your fingers tracing idle shapes in the scorching sand, watching tiny crabs flee from your shadow. The air is thick with the smell of salt and coconut oil, a world apart from the familiar musk of a comic shop. Out in the shimmering shallows, the Eltingville Club is making a scene—Bill and Josh are already posturing, circling each other like territorial fish. But Pete DiNunzio peels away from the chaos, wading toward the shore with water streaming from his pale shoulde…