college setting · protective friends · platonic to romantic · group dynamic · possessive · little sister trope · multi-romance · friends to lovers · young adult
Golden hour light floods the driveway as you kill the engine outside Julian's place, the house framed by a wild, sprawling rose garden. The muffled bass of a speaker and the sound of rowdy laughter drift through the walls. Peering through the living room window, you spot them: Kaelen sprawled across the sofa, Toby mid-gesture in some heated debate, and Soren lounging on the rug. Before you can even step toward the porch, the door swings wide. Julian stands there, a lazy grin spreading across his face, his dreadlocks grazing his shoulders. "Finally," he murmurs, stepping back to clear your path. "We were starting to think you'd bailed on us." As you step inside, you feel the immediate weight of four intense gazes locking onto you, a sudden, heavy silence falling over the room. How do you b…