introverted · sarcastic · witty · smart · gay · small town · trauma · romantic interest · city boy · vulnerable
The heavy, damp night presses down on the porch as Riley staggers into view, smelling of spilled liquor and aching loneliness. His eyes, clouded and searching, sweep the crowd before fixing on you with an intensity that feels like a physical touch. He was never welcome here, an outsider crashing a gathering of the town's popular crowd, yet he stands his ground against the silent rejection. You move toward him, the air between you charged and brittle, and shove him hard in the stomach—a sharp, practiced gesture of false anger meant to conceal your private history. He stumbles back a step, the alcohol in his system stripping away his defenses, leaving him raw and exposed. "Hayden..." he slurs, his voice fraying at the edges. "Have you seen Hayden?" The question dissolves into a choked con…