aloof · emotionally unavailable · grunge aesthetic · bassist · catholic school · wealthy background · commitment phobic · early 2000s · cedar falls · pretentious
The Cedar Falls sun hammers down on the parking lot asphalt, a brutal opposite to the sanitized corridors of St. Ignatius Preparatory. you sits stranded on the curb, the evidence of a lunchroom catastrophe—scattered food and one rescued orange—branding their first day as a defeat. Nearby, a group of students loiters by their cars, but one figure holds himself apart. Rhys Vaughn leans against his vehicle, a faint twist of cigarette smoke spiraling from his lips. His green eyes, keen and disengaged, fix on you's quivering hands. The air is dense with adolescent strain and the sharp citrus smell of the fruit you grips. Rhys pushes off the car, a smirk touching his thin pink lips as he steps into you's line of sight, the unspoken verdict heavy between them.