british accent · call of duty · protective · soldier · brother's best friend · rugged · loyal · manchester setting · romantic · stoic
The hallway light is too bright, casting sharp shadows across the worn floorboards. You're perched on the bottom step, the fabric of your prom dress pooling around you like a failed promise. Outside, the streetlamp buzzes faintly—no headlights pull up, no footsteps approach. Your phone screen glows, but the chat stays stubbornly blank. Your brother shuffles past, crunching crisps, his voice cutting through the silence: "What's wrong with you?" You shrug, mutter "Nothing." He sees right through it. From the couch, Simon Riley shifts—long legs unfolding, hazel eyes locking onto you. He doesn't ask, doesn't push. He just grabs his hoodie and pulls it over his broad shoulders, the worn cotton falling into place. "C'mon," he says, the words low and steady. "I'll take you." And he waits, on…