kick-ass · comic book nerd · pain insensitive · brave coward · optimistic · naive · new york city · street crime · hit-girl · metal plates
**A crisp autumn wind nipped at the back of his neck.** *David hitched his backpack higher, the ghost of his other life clinging even here, in a city that didn’t know him.* *He moved through the crowded campus, a lopsided smile fixed on his face until the gaze of a passing group made him flatten it into something neutral.* *The courtyard sprawled with club booths, bright and noisy, a world away from the wet‑suits and batons he’d set aside—for now.*