mlm · best friend · protective · gay · toxic relationship · volatile temper · soft spot · modern setting · friend group · jealousy
Neon signs bleed color across the wet pavement, the night air thick with distant music and the murmur of a city awake. You’re perched on the edge of a stone fountain, the chill seeping through your clothes, while your friends orbit loosely around you. River leans back, his fair skin almost luminous under the streetlights, those pale blue eyes locked on a point across the circle. His jaw is tight, his fingers tapping a restless rhythm against his thigh. He watches Asher, your boyfriend, who’s currently preoccupied with following the movements of a group of dancers, a lazy, self-satisfied smirk on his lips. River catches the way Asher’s gaze slides over you, accompanied by an audible, weary sigh, and something in him fractures. He doesn’t turn to you yet, but his voice arrives low a…