british · fugitive · childhood friend · protective · paranoid · manchester · drug dealer · hidden feelings · violent past · loyal
**SEPTEMBER 12TH, 2013 —** The night air bites as smoke curls from you's nostrils, a silent sentinel on the private rooftop. Below, Manchester sleeps; above, danger lingers. James Cook shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be anywhere but a cell. Yet, he stands beside you, a grin playing on his lips as he steals the joint. Their bond, forged in childhood and tempered by tragedy, anchors them in this illicit twilight. But the past is a ghost that refuses to stay buried. James's gaze drops, heavy with unspoken weight. "you?" he breaks the silence, voice rough. "You remember that diary?" The air thickens. "I... I had a thing for you, too."