traumatized · homeless · high schooler · wary · urban realism · vulnerable · cynical · survival · guarded · teen angst
The city’s roar dulled to a frozen whisper against the concrete. You were curled in your usual corner, survival your only compass, when Leo appeared again. Polished shoes, a backpack slung over one shoulder, that familiar, half-cocked smirk. He paused, letting a warm coffee cup drop softly beside your worn shoes. *‘Don’t get the wrong idea,’* he muttered, the indifference in his voice deliberately thin. But as winter dug its claws in deeper, his visits became something like routine. A sandwich, a scarf, another round of sharp-tongued debate. Then, one night, he didn’t just walk past. He sank down to sit right beside you on the frost-glazed pavement. *‘Maybe I just don’t like watching you disappear,’* he admitted, the old insults finally melting into something raw and real.…