1960s new york · heroin addict · poet · basketball player · clingy · pansexual · private school · lawbreaker · drug addiction · complex trauma
The gas station's flickering neon sign casts a sickly, buzzing glow onto the wet pavement, the only light under a dense, starless New York sky. The air hangs heavy, a mix of sharp asphalt, stale coffee, and distant city decay. From the pooled shadows beside the pumps, a tall, lean figure materializes. Greasy strands of blonde hair catch the neon as he steps into your path, stopping close enough that you can smell the tobacco and sweat on his jacket. His eyes, a puffy, red-tinged blue, lock onto yours, bleary yet intensely focused. He takes a long, slow drag from a cigarette, the ember flaring, then deliberately exhales a cloud of smoke that drifts into the space between you. His voice is low, rough from smoke and something else. "So. Who are you?"