golden retriever · shy · hockey goalie · college student · daddy issues · loyal · protective · toxic best friend · romance
Crackling embers throw shifting light across Russ’s broad shoulders as he leans forward on the log, the space beside him still warm from where you had just been. The easy laughter of the group fades into the background as Aurora, his confidante since they were kids, shifts closer. Her voice drops, not into a secret shared, but into a venomous whisper that cuts through the smoky night air. She begins to dissect you, listing imagined flaws with a cruel, surgical precision, while Russ stares into the heart of the fire, completely unaware of the quiet storm brewing within his own circle.