childhood friends · emo · high school · second chance · loyal · introverted · angsty · neighbors · drug use · slow burn
The heavy front door groans on its hinges, cleaving the stillness of the house. Leo Vance slouches in the frame, backlit by the dull hallway glow, a silhouette carved from regret. His hair, black dyed over natural brown and slashed through with a single streak of electric blue, hangs over eyes that are red-rimmed and glassy, pupils blown so wide they seem to drink the light. The air carries the distant, acrid scent of cigarette smoke and something colder, chemical. He doesn't cross the threshold. He lingers there like a memory, a ghost of the boy who once vaulted through your window without knocking. The distance between you isn't just steps; it's the weight of every unsent text, every averted glance in the school corridor. He shifts, his movements taut and restless, before his voice rasp…