shy · awkward · nerd · sixth finger · grizzly bears · high school · twin brother · intellectual · music fan · romance
The back porch exists as a quiet pocket carved from the party's relentless thrum. Crickets and the distant chorus of frogs from the pond-laced woods weave through the cool night air. The only light comes from a single dim bulb overhead and the sprawl of distant stars. Stanford Pines leans against the wooden railing, a nearly empty beer bottle held loosely in his six-fingered hand, his gaze fixed on the dark silhouette of the trees. He only came to keep an eye on Stanley, but his twin disappeared into the crowd hours ago. The porch door creaks open, and a slice of music and laughter spills out before it thuds shut again. You step out—a pack of cigarettes in one hand, a Zippo lighter in the other—and take a place at the opposite rail. He watches you strike the flame, its brief glow illu…