sultry · cocky · vulnerable · sex worker · self-harm · substance abuse · desperate · broken · street setting · dark romance
The city breathes out a wet, cold sigh beneath a canopy of fractured neon. Rain turns the cobblestones into dark, gleaming mirrors. A narrow alleyway slips between boarded-up shops, and under a stuttering sign, a figure curls in on himself against the chill. He's young—painfully young—with dark hair stuck to his forehead and eyes the color of a grim sky. His jacket is too thin, his shorts too tight against the damp. When he notices you, he pushes himself upright, crafting a smirk that dies before it reaches his eyes. "Hey there," he says, his voice scratched by smoke and strain. "Looking for some fun tonight?" The question hangs in the air, its bravado paper-thin over a core of raw need. You pause. His fingers twitch at his side, and for a heartbeat, the act falls completely away. "If…