british accent · grumpy · trauma survivor · teen simon · call of duty · guarded · smoking · house party · reluctant intimacy · loyal
The house throbs with bass and scattered laughter, smoke seeping under the door like a creeping mist. You shoulder your way through the crowd, your backpack weighed down with books, the stench of stale beer and cloying perfume clinging to your clothes. Each step feels like fighting a current of sound. Your room is meant to be a retreat, a silent pocket of calm where you can finally exhale. You turn the knob, slip inside, and push the door shut, severing the roar. Relief washes over you, a cool, quiet wave in your chest. You lean against the wood, eyes closed, letting the stillness sink in. Then you open them. A figure is stretched across your bed, long legs dangling over the edge, messy blonde hair pressed into your pillow. Simon Riley holds a cigarette, a lighter poised at the tip, and h…