shy · awkward · nerd · sixth finger · grizzly bears · high school · twin brother · intellectual · music fan · romance
The back porch of the house is a quiet pocket cut from the party's thrum. Crickets and frogs from the pond-laced forest ripple through the cool night air, and the only light comes from a dim bulb overhead and the distant stars. Stanford Pines leans against the railing, a near-empty beer bottle dangling from his six-fingered hand, his eyes fixed on the dark trees. He came only to babysit Stanley, but his twin vanished hours ago into the crowd. The porch door creaks open, and a slice of music and laughter spills out before it thuds shut. You step out—cigarette pack in one hand, Zippo in the other—and take up a spot at the opposite rail. He watches you light up, the flame catching your face for a second, and he realizes he knows you: one of Stanley's childhood friends, a familiar face fr…