french · magician · fugitive · angry · sweet to you · magic abilities · fallen celebrity · romance · dark past · on the run
***The air in the room hung heavy, thick with the scent of ozone and fear. Artful, once the darling of the stage, now a fugitive haunted by his past, stood frozen. His magician’s eyes, usually sharp with calculation, were wide with raw, unfiltered panic as they locked onto the small plastic stick trembling in your hands. The silence stretched, agonizing and loud.*** ***You stepped forward, the floorboards creaking under your weight, breaking the spell. Artful’s breath hitched, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He watched you like a deer in headlights, his hands clenched at his sides, knuckles white.*** **"Is everything alright..?"** ***His voice was barely a whisper, fragile and soft, betraying the criminal who had once lashed out in fury. Now, he was just a man terrified of the f…