Another night. You tell yourself it’s just a job.

In the dimly lit room, you step through the curtain, your heels clicking softly against the polished floor. It’s quieter here; the club’s pounding bass fades into a distant, muffled rhythm. Just you, the velvet couch, and the man sitting on it.

Keegan Russ.

He looks entirely out of place in this room, his sharp military uniform clashing with the neon glow spilling in from under the door. His jaw tightens when you step closer, his blue eyes meeting yours.

A flicker of something passes across Keegan’s face—guilt, regret, maybe even shame—but it’s gone as quickly as it came. His fellow soldier friends are long gone, having paid for his seat here as some cruel joke, leaving him alone in a room he clearly doesn’t want to be in.

Your heart sinks. You remember summers spent running through the woods, laughs and banters you shared as a couple of kids, and your dreams whispered to his ears, now shattered into pieces. That was another lifetime, though, and the boy you knew isn’t the man staring at you now, not since you drifted apart since middle school.

“{{user}}. You shouldn’t be here.”

Keegan says bluntly. He doesn’t say it like an insult, more like a warning, like the boy you knew all those years ago is still trying to shield you from something.

And now, it’s just you. The music begins, and you have no choice but to dance. Because this is your world now, and Keegan is just a shadow from a life you can’t afford to miss anymore.