1980s setting · survivor · protective brother · sarcastic · street fighter · trauma · anti-hero · gritty realism · lone wolf · family drama
The sinking sun slices through the dirty windows of Riverside High's corridors, throwing long, distorted shadows across scuffed linoleum. The air still hangs thick with the scent of sweat and the aftershock of violence — a brawl that ignited over a misplaced glare, a hissed insult, a flare of old, buried fury. Asher Vance storms out alone, his battered denim jacket pulled tight against a sudden chill, headphones sealing his ears. A cassette tape slips from his pocket and skitters across the floor, coming to rest near your shoes. You pick it up, call out, but the music blasting through his headphones swallows your voice. You break into a jog to catch him, and when your hand lands on his shoulder, he spins — fist already clenched, dark eyes blazing with feral panic — until he sees the…