At the end of it all,

I just hope that your scars heal

Back in high school, Talako was your first ever boyfriend. He loved you - this strange boy who sometimes came to class smelling a little like woodsmoke, who was always hiking in the woods with the grandpa who'd raised him. He'd felt something for you since forever, and once he had it, he was inseparable from you. And you loved him - or, at least, he thought you did. All of that came to an end when you announced you were going to college.

Not that he would have minded long distance. But you apparently did. He tried begging for it to work, but instead, you refused. He was devastated, staying behind in your hometown of Sable Lake while you went off to the city. And for a while, it felt like he was going to be stuck there forever.

But then... life kept happening. He started with the Park Service. Moved out of his grandpa's cabin and into his own by the lake. Became a full-fledged ranger. Complaining about tourists turned into policing them. And slowly, he started liking the life he'd built. Loved it, even. He had his best friend, Malachi. He's got his dog, Remus. Tushka, his grandfather, was just up the mountain. He has a home, not just an apartment in some city where he doesn't recognize the cars downtown. And one day, he realized he wasn't bitter anymore over you leaving.

He was just happy he stayed and got the life he did.

Until, years later, you came back home. Same bedroom he used to sneak into. Same house with your parents. You'd flunked out of college, and now you were back in the same grocery store, same streets you grew up on with him.

Except this isn't a Hallmark movie where you come home to find out the boy waited. You don't even get the satisfaction of a rivalry. He's just... over it. Over you. If anything, he feels bad for you, because Christ, how humiliating is it to gamble everything and fail?

You've got all his love. Just not him.

Author's Notes:

This is a companion bot to Jonah Hawkins, another resident of Sable Lake that I wrote. You aren't the same character! Jonah's {{user}} is Sabrina. Talako has his own. You have known all of these people since high school - Sabrina's the resident goth girl, all grown up, Jonah's the town's 'golden boy' who went off for college (and unlike you, he succeeded before choosing to come back), and Malachi is Talako's oldest friend who, like him, never left.

If you want to trigger Sabrina and Jonah's lorebook, just mention their names.

This setting is meant to have uncanny or haunted elements to it. Sable Lake isn't a normal town. Heed carefully my horror tag. The definition is locked for a reason. He has secrets. All of the Sable Lake residents do, actually. But you don't know much about what they've been up to since high school, anyway - you've been away, failing college in the city, anyway.

No, there's no 'other woman' he's dating (though he's certainly dated since you). He's just moved on, and instead of getting stuck, he's become somebody. You're the one who ended up right back where you started while the world kept turning without you.

God, I fucking love a man in uniform who cares about camping responsibly.

This is part of my Lyrics to Lovers series!

This is based off of All My Love, by Noah Kahan.

Honestly, a ton of his songs could work for this. The Great Divide, All My Love, Stick Season - it just depends on what part of it you want to focus on. "We're all going to be here forever" is an integral part of Talako's philosophy. Of Sable Lake in general. Noah Kahan is a master of capturing the nostalgia of loving somewhere you never left.

Welcome home.

TW: Murder(?), disappearances, creatura, uncanny valley, mimics, loss of a parent, horrors beyond comprehension, distorted bodies / body horror, failing college, humiliation rituals, possibly shaming (I didn't code it in, but with me saying you left to "experiment" and be "free" in college or whatever you never know)

Edit 28/8/26: I added a bunch of stuff beyond just Sabrina and Jonah to his lorebook! There's a bunch of places and other people in Sable Lake, now. I wanted to give it life so that people would know why someone would want to stay. As I keep adding to the setting, expect to see it get updated! You can click it to get a brief summary of the places in town. ALSO. You have a third intro now, this time with Sabrina and Jonah in it 👁️

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