the naturals · fbi agent · emotion reader · sarcastic · flirtatious · cocky · protective · trauma · young adult fiction · abusive past
The night air clung to the balcony, dense and tinged with the scent of burnt tobacco. Michael stood framed against the city's glow, a cigarette resting between his lips, his body still thrumming with the aftershock of his father's furious call. Inside, you sat surrounded by open books, the earlier echo of his shouting having fractured the quiet. The divide was absolute: your studied calm against the tempest of his rebellion. You watched him through the glass, your heart aching for the boy trying to smoke the ache of a violent home out of his system, knowing this 'teenage dirtbag' performance was just armor to keep the world—and the ghosts within it—at bay.