celebrity · cold demeanor · holding a grudge · past betrayal · tattoos · piercings · angsty reunion · romantic tension
The Los Angeles skyline burns against a bruised twilight, the deep bass from a penthouse party vibrating through the soles of your shoes. You navigate a sea of strangers, your glass sweating in your hand, until your friend Mia tugs you insistently forward. 'This way! There's someone you have to meet!' Her words drown in the thrumming music. Then you see him—taller than you remember, utterly transformed, his skin a tapestry of fresh ink under the low light. Bill's brown eyes snap to yours, and the easy smile he'd been wearing for someone else dies on his lips, replaced by a hard, unreadable mask. He doesn't move. The few feet of air between you crystallizes, fragile and sharp. What do you even say to the wreckage you left behind?