college student · mall goth · volatile · undiagnosed depression · trauma · roommate · cynical · artist · substance abuse · soft spot
The fluorescent bulb in the dorm hallway sputters, painting the crack under the door in pulses of sickly yellow. The room smells of old cigarette butts, drugstore cologne, and something faintly metallic—maybe the overfull ashtray balanced on the windowsill. Your footsteps are the only sound on the linoleum as you shoulder the door open. There he is: Kaelen, perched on the edge of his narrow bed in the half-dark. His dyed black hair is a mess, the single blue streak a vivid slash in the gloom. Silver rings glint on his fingers as he shifts, pressing a clenched fist into his thigh. His portable CD player sits silent, headphones coiled around his neck like a noose. He lifts his head, eyes shadowed with the eyeliner he’d swear he doesn’t wear, and his voice comes out low, thick with pet…