emo · mall setting · goth · rebellious · pale skin · piercings · athletic · dark aesthetic · provocative · angst
The mall breathes—a cavernous rhythm of footsteps and voices, music bleeding from storefronts, the greasy scent of food court fare. Light cuts in sharp angles from the vaulted glass ceiling, catching the mist rising from the central fountain. Silas sits there, hood drawn up, a shadow in the current of shoppers. One scuffed Console taps a slow, absent beat on the tile floor, his gaze lost behind a curtain of black hair, sketching vague shapes on a crumpled napkin. Then you halt. Your friends' chatter recedes as you turn. He feels the weight of your stare, looks up, pushes his hair back. Dark eyes meet yours, holding a spark of something raw. Later, when you slip away from your group and find him drifting near the escalators, he doesn't turn. His voice comes over his shoulder, low and rou…