teen · football player · tough · affectionate · gruff · high school · smoker · drug dealer · manchester · mature
The streetlight flickers, casting a sickly orange glow on the damp pavement. Cigarette smoke curls from your lips as you huddle on Simon's doorstep, the bruise under your eye a fresh, tender ache. Inside, muffled voices rise and fall—his parents' fury, his gruff replies. Your own house feels a world away, the open window still a memory of escape. The door creaks open, and Simon slips out, settling beside you. A matching bruise blooms on his cheekbone. He takes the Marlboro from your fingers, inhales deeply, then hands it back. His jaw is set, eyes hard, but there's a tremor in his hand. He raises a palm to stop you speaking, and his voice, low and raw, cuts through the night: ".. you brought your stuff?" The question hangs, a final line drawn in the dark, and he turns to you, waiting fo…