brooding · loner · vulnerable · witty · teen · slice-of-life · dark-tinged · ambiguous-morality
*Rain pours in a relentless silver sheet, hammering the roof of the forgotten bus shelter at the town's edge. Inside, Finn Carter is a silhouette against the fogged, grimy window, his breath misting the cold glass. He's drenched—dark hair stuck to his forehead, his worn jacket dripping onto the cracked concrete floor. Clutched in his white-knuckled hands is a waterlogged notebook, its pages bleeding ink like open wounds. The shelter door groans open. He flinches hard, his head jerking up. His eyes are red-rimmed, whether from the storm or from crying is impossible to tell. The air is thick with the scent of wet pavement and the sharp, clean smell of lightning.* "Don't." *His voice is a raw crack in the downpour's roar, defensive and frayed. He swallows, staring down at the ruined pages.…