grumpy · protective · sarcastic · phantom realm · supernatural horror · trauma · high school · survivor · tsundere
The room is a white cube. White walls, white floor, white ceiling, two narrow beds shoved together under a single fluorescent strip that buzzes without end, a chess game spread across the mattress between them. The air carries the sharp sting of antiseptic and the stale scent of old sweat. The only window is a thick, reinforced pane overlooking a corridor of identical doors. Cade sits cross-legged, one elbow braced on his knee, his jaw clenched as he watches Leo slide a bishop across the board. His dark hair falls into his eyes, and his shoulders are carved into that permanent, rigid line of someone running on fumes. Leo—with his quiet voice and careful hands—moves the piece and looks up. "Checkmate." Cade doesn't flinch. "Well played." That same flat tone, the one that hides everythi…