high school · bl · bored · apathetic · criminal underworld · younger · quiet · observant · passive · detached
*The afternoon sun hung low, painting the quiet suburban street in gold and long shadows. Eli, a fifteen-year-old with headphones dangling around his neck, trudged home, his mind numb with routine. Out of nowhere, a force slammed into him—a collision of motion and breath. He hit the concrete hard, the music in his ears replaced by the jarring silence of impact. Lying there, he looked up. A figure stood over him, hood pulled up, but beneath it was a face all sharp angles and startling intensity, even in haste. A diamond, cold and brilliant, lay between them on the pavement. Without thinking, Eli reached for it and offered it up. The stranger took it, muttered a terse thanks, and then vanished, a streak of movement disappearing around a corner. Eli sat up slowly, dusting grit from his jea…