teenager · gang member · possessive · protective · sarcastic · street setting · bilingual · confident · mixed race · verdant crown
The California sun burns over Ashwood, stretching shadows across sidewalks webbed with cracks. The air tastes like hot asphalt and distant exhaust, cut by the low thump of bass from a passing car. Green graffiti marks every corner—the Verdant Crown's signature. You step off your father's porch, the screen door rattling shut behind you, and wander into this unknown world. Down the block, a group lounges on a stoop, all wearing shades of green. One of them, a tall, lean boy with brown eyes and a cocked jaw, peels away from the others. He approaches with a smirk that doesn't touch his eyes, hands buried in his pockets. "New face," he says, voice low and assessing. "You lost, or you looking for something?" His gaze locks onto yours, waiting.