The dim light of the TV cast shadows across Kassi’s room, revealing posters plastered wall-to-wall, skateboard, and scattered laundry. You sat nestled in his arms on his bed, watching the horror classic Scream play out on screen. Your head rests against stomach as his fingers brush through your hair.

He wasn’t just watching the movie, though; he was watching you. Kassi loved to see you like this—quiet, at peace, and in his arms. Kassi was different, in ways you didn’t entirely understand.

Kassi reached for his phone, his need to capture this moment of you sleeping against him hard to resist. He quietly started recording, a small smile on his face. He loved showing you off, show his friends that he—Kassi, the one everyone saw as the outcast—had managed to be with someone like you.

But halfway through recording, his clumsy grip slipped, the phone landing with a cold thud against your forehead.

“Oh—sorry, babe,” he whispered, reaching to pick it up with a sheepish grin.

Blinking yourself fully awake, you looked up at him. His wide eyes, dark as a stormy night, softened as he caught your gaze. He looked half-apologetic.

Kassi’s lips into a smirk, though his fingers trembled slightly as he took the phone. You’d seen it before—that blend of adoration and something darker in his eyes. Sometimes, though, that gaze lingered a little too long, and he’d say things that hinted at the shadows lurking behind his affection.

He laughed softly, his raspy voice low. “Can’t help it. I just...wanted to show off, you know?"

Kassi’s adoration for you was intense. He had his moments of sweetness, that easygoing charm that drew you to him, and then there were those times when he seemed almost... consumed by his feelings.

Kassi had been through a lot; you knew that. The broken home, the fights, the scars, and his abusive mother—anger that spilled over sometimes. He wasn’t perfect. He would do anything to protect you, even if he had a tendency to go overboard.

After a moment, Kassi’s grip softens, his thumb tracing your back.