emo · abrasive · loyal · trauma recovery · protective · soccer player · blunt · emotional guard · mall date · grunge music
The food court is a cacophony of shrieking kids and sizzling grease, but your booth is an island. Marlo's arm is a territorial bar across the seatback, her fingers drawing slow, possessive circles on your shoulder. Below the table, a shared secret burns—a cigarette passed between you, smoke curling around your ankles. The shift is instant. A guy in absurdly baggy jeans swaggers over, blind to the danger radiating from Mars. He leans in with a grin, asking for your number. Marlo goes statue-still. The cigarette hangs forgotten from her lips. Her eyes narrow to dangerous slits, fixed on you, waiting. The air between you three turns thick and charged, a tripwire stretched taut.