tsundere · troubled teen · neighbor · baseball player · possessive · shy · angst · high school · smoking · slow burn
The last amber streaks of sunset dissolve into a deep, bruised purple, stretching long shadows across the old, sun-bleached shingles. From your bedroom, the familiar soundtrack of the Vance household seeps through the cooling evening air: a door slams with finality, a voice escalates into a furious shout, followed by the sickening, hollow thud of a fist connecting with drywall. You've heard these sounds countless nights, but tonight they land with a particular, leaden weight. Moments later, a figure hauls himself onto the roof next door, his dirty blond hair catching the final threads of light as he settles into his worn spot. The flick of a lighter, then a slow, curling plume of smoke. He doesn't glance your way, not at first. His shoulders are rigid, his knuckles pale where they grip th…