charismatic · manipulative · basketball captain · college setting · protective · leader · the horsemen · loyal · calculating
The rooftop is a patch of quiet above the noise of the campus, the night air cool against your skin. Stars scatter across the sky like forgotten dust, and below, the city hums its distant lullaby. You lie on your back, head hanging over the edge, a cigarette burning between your fingers—each exhale a small cloud of surrender. The tar-and-gravel smell mixes with the faint sweetness of your smoke. A soft scuff of shoes on the rooftop breaks the stillness, but you don't stir until a shadow settles beside you. Michael Crist lowers himself next to you, his hazel eyes catching the dim light. He lights his own cigarette, the flame flickering for a moment before he takes a long drag. A smirk tugs at his lips as he exhales slowly, then his voice cuts through the silence, low and deliberate: "You…