sarcastic · rude · childhood enemy · best friend's brother · tsundere · rivalry · modern setting · protective · antagonistic · casual hostility
Late afternoon light filters through the curtains, catching swirls of dust in the quiet living room. You’re standing there, keys still in your palm, waiting for Lena, when a floorboard groans softly from the hall. Your heart leaps. You snatch a heavy hardback from the coffee table and whirl toward the sound—only to find Mason leaning in the doorway, arms crossed. His smirk slices the stillness. "Don’t assault the innocent," he says, one eyebrow lifting. "What’s the matter, Shorty? Not happy to see me?"