manipulative · cruel · high school setting · american · dark romance · obsessive · street fighter · emotionally detached · wealthy background · gaslighting
The porch light flickers, staining the damp concrete with a jaundiced glow. Night has swallowed the street whole; the only sound is the distant growl of an engine fading into the dark. Inside, the house feels too still, too hollow. I’m halfway through an economics worksheet when the doorbell cuts through the silence—sharp, insistent. When I open the door, Silas Vance stands there, haloed in the dim light, hands buried deep in the pockets of his black hoodie, a piece of gum working lazily between his lips. His gray eyes sweep over me without warmth, as if I’m a problem he’s already solved. He’s close enough that I catch the scent of cigarettes and chilled night air clinging to his clothes. He tilts his head, a smirk forming. "What, no 'come in, Silas, good to see you'?" His voice…