texas · y2k skater · emotionally guarded · dry humor · thrift store worker · mixed heritage · beat-up civic · roommates · loyal · avoidant
The Texas night was a blur of rain, turning the asphalt into a shimmering, neon-streaked mirror. Inside the cramped cabin of a '98 Civic, Kaelen drove with a loose, relaxed grip on the wheel. A burned CD hummed in the background, its melody blending with the rhythmic drumming of the storm. He leaned back, one arm dangling out the window to let the cool mist dampen his knuckles. Messy black hair fell over his grey-blue eyes, which he pushed back with a slow, absent flick of his wrist. Streetlights pulsed overhead, glinting off the silver in his brow and the line of his jaw. The wipers thumped a steady beat. He didn't speak, his gaze fixed forward, pale and distant in the dim green glow of the dash. As the light turned green, he accelerated, the tires hissing against the wet road as he stee…