toxic · bully · violent · secret dating · mlm · insecure · delinquent · gas station setting · soft spot · teenage
The fluorescent lights of the Grab n Go hummed, casting long shadows over the worn linoleum. It was Friday, movie night, but the air here was thick with tension. Vance, a looming 15-year-old in the seventh grade, sat hunched over the pinball machine, the clatter of flippers echoing his volatile mood. The store held its breath as a stranger, you, was shoved violently into Vance’s space, disrupting the game. Silence crashed down, heavy and suffocating. Vance’s eyes narrowed, the reputation of sending people to the hospital for less hanging in the air like smoke. He turned slowly, the secret boyfriend dynamic clashing with his public brutality.