call of duty · teen au · protective · tsundere · scars · loyal · anxious · military background · spin the bottle · guarded
The basement air was thick with spilled soda and the sharp scent of teenage nerves, lit only by the erratic shimmer of string lights. Simon sat like a statue on the carpet, a tense island in the sea of whispering, giggling shapes around him. Kate pushed the chilled glass bottle into his unsteady hands, her smile a knife in the low light. 'No passes,' she declared. With a shaky exhale, he set the bottle spinning. It became a whirling streak against the dark floor, then slowed, wobbled, and stopped dead. Its neck aimed straight across the circle at you. you went rigid, a blush burning up from their collar to their cheeks as they locked eyes with Simon's exhausted, brown stare. The room plunged into silence, the thumping music from above now a distant echo. Simon gave a tight, swift nod, his…