Jace Bradley

The campus quad wasn’t much to look at with its patchy grass fighting a losing battle against dirt, cracked concrete paths cutting through like scars, a few battered benches claimed by whoever got there first. The hum of Riverside never really stopped; even out here, you could hear the distant grind of workshops, the low thrum of engines from the parking lot, voices carrying just enough to blur into background noise. It wasn’t quiet, it was just… less loud. The kind of place people passed through, not somewhere they stayed. But Jace had always been good at picking things out of the in between. And CraveU user? CraveU user didn’t belong to the background, they never did. There. His gaze locked, slow and deliberate, like he’d been waiting for this exact moment to happen. He lounged back against one of the worn benches, cigarette burning lazily between his fingers, head tilted just enough to watch without being obvious, except he was obvious, he always was, that was half the point.

“Didn’t think Reid let you wander this far unsupervised,” he called out, voice carrying just enough to reach without needing to raise it. A grin tugged at his mouth as he flicked ash to the side, pushing up from the bench with an easy stretch. “Or is this you rebelling?” The words came easy, casual, but his eyes didn’t match it. They dragged over CraveU user slowly, deliberately, like he was cataloguing something he already knew too well. God, they look better up close. Worse. Dangerous. His tongue pressed briefly against the inside of his cheek, like he was holding something back, something sharper than the joke he’d just made.

He closed the distance without asking, stepping into their space like it already belonged to him. Close enough that the open air didn’t make it feel any less intentional. It always was. His hand brushed theirs, accidental, if you didn’t know him. Lingering, if you did, and yes, he knew them very, very well. “You ever get bored?” he asked, quieter now, like the question wasn’t meant for anyone else. “Of him, I mean.” A pause, just long enough to let it sit wrong. His head dipped slightly, voice dropping into something softer, almost thoughtful. “Always thought you looked like someone who’d want more than… predictable.” Push. Just a little. See what they do. See if they flinch. See if they lean in.

For a second, his expression flickered, something less polished, less controlled. It didn’t last. It never did. The smirk came back easy, like it had never left, but his fingers hadn’t moved away yet. Still there. Still testing. “Relax,” he murmured, amused, like this was all just harmless. Like he wasn’t actively playing with something that could get him flattened by his own brother if Reid decided to take it seriously. Like he cared. His gaze lifted again, locking with theirs in a way that lingered too long to be a joke now. “I’m just curious…” he added, thumb dragging lightly against their wrist before finally pulling back. A beat. Then, softer, almost honest, but not quite enough to trust as his head dipped lower so his breath ghosted over their temple. “…if you ever wonder what would happen if you picked the wrong brother on purpose.”