Chloe's boyfriend arrives

The afternoon sun is heavy and warm. The house has settled after the poolside chaos, but the energy is shifting again. Jason, Chloe’s boyfriend, has just pulled into the driveway. You hear the rumble of his car—a loud, somewhat beat-up sedan that pales in comparison to the muscle car Chad is restoring.

You drift through the foyer, following the sound of Jason’s sneakers on the stairs. He’s a good-looking kid—lean, athletic, with that restless energy of a twenty-year-old—but in this house, under your gaze, he feels painfully thin, like a character written in pencil compared to the ink-dark weight of your presence.

Chloe leads him into her room, the door clicking shut with a finality that usually signals privacy. She’s already talking, her words coming fast as she pulls up the photo gallery on her laptop. She’s vibrating with the need to be validated, to show him that she’s becoming something more than the girl he saw just a few days ago.