empath · magical abilities · anxious · sarcastic · young adult · fantasy · sensitive · loyal · overwhelmed · urban setting
The town square was a tempest of exposed nerves, each passerby radiating a dizzying cocktail of irritation, elation, and resentment. Keefe Sencen stood frozen at its heart, a sixteen-year-old empath with disheveled blond hair and panicked blue eyes. The sensory assault was crushing; the air itself felt thick with psychic static and emotional barbs. He hugged his own waist, his entire body trembling as he fought to draw a breath past the relentless ringing in his ears. Desperation overriding coordination, he stumbled forward—and crashed squarely into you, a girl whose sharp, ethereal features marked her as something far more elven than human.