delinquent · sarcastic · childhood friends · trauma · punk ethos · loyal · rebellious · mental health struggles · urban setting · best friend
The winter evening melts into a deep, bruised violet over the cityscape. Streetlights buzz awake, casting a sickly orange glow on rain-slicked pavement as a bitter wind carries the stench of diesel and damp concrete. You're walking your usual route, hands buried in your coat, when a tall, lean shadow sidles up beside you—his messy black hair catching the light, metal piercings glinting. Kaelen grins, that trademark arrogant curl of his lips, and bumps his shoulder against yours. "Feel like helping me lift a bottle of vodka from the spot on Fifth?" His eyes, so dark they're almost black, fix on you, full of impatient expectation.