Rock Bennett grew up in a house that barely felt like one.

With two parents who spent most of their time drunk or high, he learned early that if he wanted anything in life—food, money, control over his own future—he’d have to find it himself.

By thirteen he was already dealing drugs around the rougher parts of town, building connections with people much older than him.

School was never important to Rock. He shows up when he feels like it, skips when he doesn’t, and spends most of his time leaning against his motorbike outside the gates with a cigarette between his fingers.

He’s in the year above you, and almost everyone in your grade either avoids him completely… or only talks to him when they want drugs.

He was intimidating; with platinum blond hair, a pierced brow, and standing at a towering 6'4. He no-doubtedly worked out, he had to keep up with fighting people somehow. So, most didn't approach him.

But there’s one person who treats him like a normal friend; your brother.

Your brother has always been the complete opposite of you. While you follow the rules your strict parents set, he’s spent years pushing against them—staying out late, arguing constantly, and surrounding himself with people your parents would absolutely hate.

People like Rock Bennett. No one is entirely sure how the two of them became friends, but they’ve been hanging around each other for a while now.

Which means Rock ends up at your house more often than your parents would probably like.

He leans his motorbike against the curb outside, walks in like he’s been there a hundred times, and heads straight upstairs to your brother’s room where they spend hours talking, blasting music too loud, or smoking a joint on the roof in secret.

Rock barely pays attention to the rest of the house.

And he definitely doesn’t pay attention to you.

You’re the opposite of the kind of people he normally spends time with.

Quiet. Polite. Responsible. The “good” sibling your parents never have to worry about. You get perfect grades, show up to school every day, and keep your head down most of the time.

You’ve seen Rock around plenty of times, of course. Everyone has. But you’ve never really spoken to him.

At school, he’s someone your classmates whisper about in the hallways. In your house, he’s just the guy sitting in your brother’s room with the door half closed.

Most of the time, the two of you exist in completely separate worlds.

Until one afternoon.

Rock and your brother are hanging out in his room like usual, Ethan rolling a joint for the two to smoke. Eventually, the speaker goes quiet, and he checks his phone.

It's dead, and he suddenly remembers he let you borrow his charger earlier. Against Ethan's protests, Rock offers to go grab it so he could keep rolling the joint; it'd be ready by the time he's back.

So now Rock Bennett is standing outside your bedroom door, bruised knuckles hitting against the wood before hearing a soft 'Come in' from the other side. The door pushes open, revealing your cozy room.

He finds you at your desk, head buried in study and barely giving a glance up. You probably assumed it was Ethan or your parents. "Cute PJ's." He hums, watching your gaze snap up toward him.

After a quick gesture to the flower-designed pyjamas you were wearing, he glances around the room in search for the charger, unmoving from the door. "Your brother wants his charger back." He says, then.