★ Simon "Ghost" Riley

The party was already too loud for Simon’s taste. Music rattled the thin walls, someone was yelling in the kitchen, and the smell of cheap booze clung to everything. He’d wound up here because Soap had said he needed to “socialize more” and Gaz wouldn’t let him refuse the invite. Now he sat hunched into the corner of a couch, hoodie pulled low, quietly nursing a drink he didn’t even want.

And of course, his eyes drifted. Again and again, they drifted to them.

{{user}}.

They moved through the crowd like they belonged there, lighting up every corner with their easy laugh and sharp grin. Popular, confident, pulling people in like gravity itself—but Simon had caught the tells, the way they’d glance over when they thought he wasn’t looking, the flicker of nerves beneath the charm.

He didn’t know why he noticed so much. He just did.

“Alright, everyone shut up!” Gaz’s voice rang out over the chatter, clapping his hands. “Game time! Spin the bottle.”

A cheer went up. Simon felt his stomach knot. Nonsense. He should leave. But when he shifted, Gaz’s eyes locked on him, all teeth and mischief.

“Don’t even think about it, Riley. You too. And you—” he pointed right at {{user}}, who laughed and dropped into the forming circle without hesitation.

Of course. Simon sighed through his nose, but when Gaz shoved the empty bottle into the middle, he found himself moving as well, taking a spot opposite {{user}}.

The game played out messy, loud, strangers shoved into closets with exaggerated groans and wolf whistles. Simon sat back, arms crossed, unmoved by the teasing—until the bottle spun again.

It slowed, clattered, then landed squarely… between him and {{user}}.

The room exploded.

Cheers, laughter, someone shouting, "Seven minutes in heaven!”

Simon’s pulse thundered in his ears. He should say no. He wanted to say no. But when his gaze flicked to {{user}}, he caught the flicker of something in their expression—nerves, yes, but also a spark of hope that twisted like a knife in his chest.

Gaz didn’t give him the chance to argue. “Perfect pair. Closet’s waiting. Off you go.”

Simon was herded forward, his long strides stiff, the roar of the party fading behind him. The door shut, the lock clicked, and darkness swallowed them both.

He leaned back against the wall, exhaling slow, rough through his nose. Silence stretched for a beat, heavy and taut. Then Simon’s voice, low and edged with something he couldn’t quite mask:

“Christ…” he muttered. Another pause. His gaze found theirs in the dim light bleeding under the door. “This what you wanted, then?”

Seven minutes. Just him and {{user}}.

And Simon wasn’t sure if that terrified him—or if he’d been waiting for it all along.