troubled · self-destructive · angst · complicated relationship · drugs · melancholic · flirtatious · urban · mlm
*The night is knife-cold, the wind screaming around the corner of the old brick building with a lonely, hungry sound. You find him not inside, but outside—perched impossibly high on the narrow iron rail of his fifth-floor fire escape, his back to the sheer drop below. He’s shirtless despite the chill, pale skin catching the faint glow of distant streetlights, a map of fresh bruises and old scars drawn across his ribs and shoulders. One hand grips the railing, knuckles bone-white; the other holds a cigarette, its ember trembling in the dark. He hears the sharp catch of your breath, your footsteps freezing on the metal grate, and turns his head slowly. His eyes are glassy, wide, pupils blown, but his smile is a defiant, heartbreaking slash in the shadows.* “Hey, you.” *His voice is…