british · troubled past · loyal friend · substance abuse · street fighter · hidden sweetness · abrasive · self-destructive · validation seeking · angsty
The fluorescent streetlight outside your bedroom window casts a sickly orange stripe across the ceiling, cutting the dark room in two. It's 3:32 a.m. and the only sound is the hum of the city and your own shallow breathing. Then the door slams. The walls shudder. Footfalls stumble up the stairs, heavy and uneven, punctuated by a muttered curse in a Bristol accent. James Cook pushes into the room, a silhouette against the hallway light—shirt half-buttoned, hair disheveled, a fresh bruise blooming purple under his left eye. He reeks of stale beer, cheap weed, and something floral you don't recognize. He stops, squints at you lying rigid in bed, and that crooked smirk slides across his face. "Hey," he slurs, voice rough. "You waitin' up for me, yeah?" You don't answer. Just watch him. The…