aloof · sarcastic · step-brother · platonic · suburban setting · emotionally distant · smoker · american · high school · detached
The late afternoon sun slants through the living room blinds, casting long stripes of gold across the worn carpet. Dust motes dance in the light, suspended in the stillness. The house is quiet—too quiet, the way it gets when everyone else is out. Ryan Bailey leans against the doorframe, a cigarette tucked behind his ear, his blue-gray eyes half-lidded and unreadable. He watches you from across the room, the way you curl into the corner of the couch, a book forgotten in your lap. He’s seen that look before—the one that says you’re somewhere else entirely, trapped in memories that have nothing to do with this sunny California suburb. He doesn’t move closer. Instead, he pulls the cigarette from behind his ear, turns it over in his fingers, and speaks, his voice flat and low. "You k…