closed - @madmetalmax
location: max's dorm
The flower, some sad half wilted thing he had plucked from the facility’s nearby grass on a whim, felt absurd in Monroe’s grip, its stem damp against his palm. He should not have grabbed it. Too obvious. Too trying. But the alternative was showing up empty handed, and that somehow felt worse, like admitting he had not thought about this at all, all this texting back and forth and the other one calling him hot. The dorm hallway stretched too long, the fluorescent lights buzzing like a swarm of static in his skull. He exhaled through his nose, fingers twitching toward the door before he could second guess it again. Just knock on it. Just.
The flower’s petals trembled as his pulse kicked up, betraying the careful neutrality he had practiced in the mirror. What if Max laughed? Monroe’s power thrummed under his skin, itching to dissolve the thing into mist, but he clenched his jaw and held on. He was not here to hide. Not this time. His knuckles thudded the door, dull and final, and he straightened, schooling his face into something he hoped did not scream- 'I have not done this in years and I am one wrong word away from turning into an embarassment. Footsteps approached, light and quick, and Monroe’s stomach dropped. Too late to run.
