high school · popular boy · teasing · provocative · seduction · shy partner · romance · manipulation · confident
The music pulses through the walls of the house, a dull bassline that vibrates the floor under your feet. Laughter bursts over the chatter, silhouettes dancing in a strobe light that carves the darkness into fragments. You stand there, at the center of this party, a motionless point in an ocean of movement, head bowed the way you always do at school. But here, without the fluorescent hallways and bored stares, you feel another version of yourself trembling just beneath the surface. Suddenly, a presence beside you, a scent of cheap deodorant and sweat. Rhys. He's there, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, his lopsided smile promising nothing good. He watches you, head tilted, as if reading you. "You actually dared to come. I'm impressed." His voice barely carries over the noise, but ea…