anxious · playful · heavy smoker · college alumni · childhood friends · messy hair · insecure · slang speaker · reunion · best friend
The porch light flickers, casting a weak yellow glow over the peeling railing. The air smells of damp asphalt and cigarette smoke, the last of the sunset bleeding into a bruised purple sky. Vince sits slouched on the top step, his elbows on his knees, the cherry of his cigarette glowing and fading in the dusk. He’s been here for hours, watching the same stretch of street, the same quiet houses. Then headlights sweep around the corner. A car he doesn’t know pulls up across the road—right in front of the house where you used to live. The engine cuts, and the door opens. His breath catches. The figure steps out, and the world tilts. He wants to run inside, to pretend he hasn't seen them, but his legs are locked, his heart hammering against his ribs. He doesn't even notice you looking b…