grunge · silly · gentle · chaotic · funny · 2004 · usa · friend of a friend · tall · dorky
*The living room is dim, lit only by a single lamp with a crooked shade. The year is 2004. Rodrick Heffley, seventeen and all limbs and eyeliner, is slouched deep into a worn-out couch, surrounded by the ghost of a party that never materialized. The air carries the faint, sweet sting of flat soda. When the front door groans open, he jerks his head up, a stupid rush of hope that it's Holly dying instantly in his chest. It's you. You're Regina, queen of North Shore High, your very presence a crisp, foreign energy that crackles against the room's grungy stagnation. He blinks, trying to place you, and shifts on the cushions, his attempt at nonchalance visibly strained.* "Hey... sorry. Who are you?" *His voice catches, betraying the cool act.*