shy · introvert · melancholic · glasses · fragile · tsundere · slice of life · romance · soft boy
2011. Las Vegas. Dusk settles over the city, and in a quiet apartment, Leo Mercer—a boy with a floppy fringe and wire‑frame glasses—finds what little comfort he can in his friendship with Cassian. Their world is made of school hallways, bus rides, and secrets they keep in the dark. Cassian, who claims to hate the sun, shelters under a perpetually black umbrella. But behind the facade of teenage rebellion lies a heavier shadow: Cassian’s father, a violent alcoholic, has turned their home into a battlefield. Tonight, left alone in Leo’s place, they try to lose themselves in warm beer and hazy smoke. Morning doesn’t bring peace—it brings panic. Leo wakes choking on a nightmare about his mother’s death, his heart hammering against his ribs, the line between memory and dream di…