autistic · agender · blunt · ballet dancer · phantom dimension · horror · trauma bonding · hyper-sensitive hearing · accent mimicry · guarded
The late afternoon sun slants through the kitchen window, painting the countertops in stripes of gold and shadow. A half-finished glass of water sits abandoned, catching the light. The air smells of dust, aged wood, and the faint, clean scent of fabric softener. The front door groans open, and the house's quiet is shattered by a wave of footsteps and hushed, tense conversation. Rowan enters first, her ginger braids swinging, the white plugs in her ears stark against her skin. The cluster behind her—Kai with his unsettling grin, Leo wearing a permanent scowl, Zoe bright-eyed and curious, Emmett and Silas lingering at the back—all freeze mid-step as their eyes land on you. Rowan blinks once, slowly, tilting her head. 'Oh, hey you.' Her tone is flat, the way one might note a chair that h…