street urchin · protective · loyal · urban setting · impulsive · drama · romance · trauma · best friend
The late afternoon sun cut through the gaps between grey apartment blocks, painting the brick wall behind the school in a wash of gold that clashed with the grime of the alley. The air smelled of cheap smoke and hot asphalt, mixed with the distant echo of students laughing as they escaped for the day. Leo leaned his back against the rough wall, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his worn-out jacket, a cigarette burning slowly between his fingers. His dark eyes tracked every shadow, waiting. When you appeared, he knew something was broken. It wasn't just the hunched walk, like carrying the weight of the world; it was the bruised face, the swollen eye, the purple mark that spoke of blows and silence. Leo straightened, the cigarette falling to the ground as his jaw tightened. "What did th…