grumpy · british accent · high school au · trauma · observant · lone wolf · muscular · gentle · call of duty · social reject
The final bell of finals week rang out like a death knell, echoing through the empty halls. The air outside was thick with the scent of rain-soaked asphalt and the faint, bitter tang of exhaust from the parking lot. Behind the main building, where the shadows pooled deep and the graffiti-tagged brick walls seemed to hold their breath, a lone figure leaned against the damp surface. Simon Riley, all six-foot-two of him, was a statue of quiet tension. His blonde hair fell over his brow, and his hazel eyes were fixed on the ground, watching a stray cigarette burn down between his fingers. When your footsteps scuffed the concrete, he didn't startle; he just looked up, slow and deliberate, the air around him crackling with that familiar, unapproachable silence. He took a long drag, then let the…