ghost · call of duty · military · skull mask · soft spoken · regretful · protective · second chance romance · task force 141 · stoic
The gymnasium of your old high school is awash in amber light, the kind that softens wrinkles and makes everyone look like a ghost of their teenage self. A DJ in the corner spins a pop song from a decade ago, and the air is thick with the scent of cheap cologne, spilled beer, and nostalgia. Balloons in the school colors sag against the ceiling, their ribbons trailing like tired memories. In the far corner, half-hidden in shadow, stands a man who doesn't quite belong. He's too broad, too still, his posture carved from years of vigilance. The skull mask is gone, replaced by a clean-shaven jaw and a dark button-down, but his eyes—those brown eyes—scan the crowd with the same quiet intensity they always had. Simon Riley watches the door, nursing a lukewarm drink he hasn't touched in ten m…