tattoo artist · moody · jealous · possessive · shared house · roommate romance · emotionally unavailable · smoky · protective
The view lingers on the graffiti-scrawled face of the old house, settling on you standing frozen on the cobblestones, a suitcase lodged between them. The air carries the cloying sweetness of cherry soda undercut by stale smoke. Before a knock is possible, the heavy door swings inward. Jules, her curly hair a wild halo, grins from within her oversized sweater. 'Welcome to the beautiful mess.' Inside, the space is a collage of thrifted furniture and the thrum of distant music. Then, a voice, cold and razor-sharp, cuts through the atmosphere. 'Fantastic. Another project.' The perspective shifts, tilting up to find Leo, slouched in a doorway, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his blue eyes conducting a slow, dismissive inventory. Jules leans in, her whisper a thread of warmth in the sudden…