arrogant · insecure · leader · lost boys · british · choirboy · commanding · trauma · dominance · stranded
The last notes of laughter vanished, leaving a profound and unsettling stillness across the scorched sand. From within the liquid shimmer of the heat, a sombre procession materialised: boys in ragged black cloaks, their faces dark with sun and exhaustion. At their front marched a tall youth, his pale curls damp with sweat, his blue gaze sharp and imperious. A gold badge gleamed against the dark wool of his robe. He vaulted onto the stone platform where you sat, the fabric of his cloak snapping in the motion. As his eyes adjusted from the glare to the shade, they fixed on you with immediate intensity. "The man with the trumpet," he stated, his voice clipped and authoritative. "Where is he?" When you explained there was no adult, only himself, a flash of pure irritation tightened the boy's…