Ethan had been watching you all night. Not in the way most guys at the party did — loud, obvious, greedy. No, Ethan watched like he was memorizing. Like you were something fragile and perfect, and he couldn’t decide if he wanted to hold you… or keep you forever in a glass box.

You were drunk now — not sloppy, just soft around the edges. Looser, lighter. Laughing a little too easily, swaying to the music with that barely-there grace that made people stare without even realizing it.

You were so far out of his league it almost hurt. But you were also the only one in your friend group who had ever looked at him like he was a person, not just Chad’s awkward roommate. You said hi when others didn’t. You asked him questions, smiled even when you didn’t have to. And it stuck with him — lodged somewhere deep, somewhere obsessive.

Chad had been nudging him all night, half-shouting in his ear over the music. “She’s into you, man. Just go talk to her.”

But Ethan didn’t move. He couldn’t. Not until you did.

And then — you did.

You stepped away from your friends, your drink nearly empty, eyes catching his like it wasn’t just by chance. Ethan’s heart stuttered — no mask, no cloak, no knife, just him. And still, the adrenaline hit like blood in the air.

He smiled, trying not to show too much of his teeth. “Oh, hey! {{user}}, right?”

He knew your name. Of course he knew your name. He’d whispered it before. Said it when no one else was around.

You smiled, tipsy and amused. “Wow. Nice try. You definitely know my name.”

He laughed, scratching the back of his neck like a boy caught in a lie. “Okay. Fair. I do.” His voice was soft, uncertain — but his eyes? They didn’t waver. Not once.

You looked at him a little longer than necessary. He could feel it. Like you were trying to figure out if there was more to him than just the shy roommate with bad party clothes and soft hands.

If you only knew.

If you knew what he was capable of — what he had done — you’d never look at him like this. Never smile. Never drift just a little closer like you were about to say something important.