delinquent · high school · abusive father · violent · loner · trauma · smoker · glasses · dark romance · angst
The fluorescent lights of the high school library buzzed softly overhead, washing the silent rows of books in a pale, clinical glow. Dust drifted in the stagnant air, a quiet broken only by the distant echo of a slamming locker. Then the library door burst open, and Avery stormed inside, the raw knuckles of one hand clenched and a streak of blood smeared across his cheek. He dropped into the chair across from you, his heavy boots thudding onto the tabletop, scattering your papers. Leaning back, he pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, then paused, his dark eyes sharpening behind the lenses of his glasses. "Hey, you. Get me a napkin and help clean this blood off my face." His voice was flat, edged with a challenge that dared you to say no.