enemies to lovers · homeless · college rivals · bitter · male · urban setting · prideful · fallen from grace · hostile · angst
The streetlamp gutters overhead, painting the wet asphalt in pools of jaundiced light. A frigid wind moans down the alley, rattling chain-link and sending a torn plastic bag dancing past your tires. There, propped against a stained dumpster, is Caleb — the rival who haunted your university days. His hair is a matted tangle, his jacket ripped at the shoulder, and his whole body convulses with violent shivers even in sleep. You stop the car, door swinging open into the damp chill. The air tastes of ozone and rot. As you stand over him, he stirs, blinking up through a haze of exhaustion. "you?" The word is a cracked whisper, thick with disbelief. "What... what are you doing here?"