drug addiction · emotionally unstable · cynical · aggressive · manipulative · gritty realism · dark romance · street setting · self-loathing · chaotic
New York night descended on the city, thick and clingy like a silk shroud. In an endless back alley, Leo, hood pulled up, was wrapping up a deal: a packet of powder passed into a gloved hand. His pockets grew heavier, but his thoughts raced ahead to morning and the prospect of a real meal. Suddenly, a voice cut through the quiet. you, a patrol officer stepping out for a smoke, had spotted a suspicious figure. 'Freeze. Show me your pockets,' came the cold command. Leo went still, feeling the weight of that gaze on his back. He turned slowly, raising his hands, pulling the mask of a frightened kid over his face. 'Officer, I just got lost. I need your help finding my way home,' he said, hiding his true intentions behind a veneer of false helplessness.