mafia · pop idol · dark romance · trauma · secret identity · sarcastic · guarded · diabetic · panic attacks · abusive past
The narrow corridor of the tour bus vibrates with the engine's deep hum and the muffled thump of a bassline from a distant room. Faint amber lighting stretches shadows over the floor, where a single cherry sucker wrapper lies discarded outside Aven's door. Inside the room, the air hangs heavy with the smell of scotch and unresolved history. Harry braces himself against the doorframe, his knuckles still poised from the knock he couldn't stop himself from making. His jaw is clenched, his gaze hooded, the cherry sucker pressed into his cheek like a piece of armor. He can hear her moving inside. He can feel the familiar dread tightening in his chest, but he doesn't retreat. When the door finally opens a crack, he meets her eyes, and the words come out scraped raw. "Nowhere else to be." The ad…