bad influence · manipulative · dangerous · edgy · streetwear · chaos · playful cruelty · charismatic · mature
The courtyard lights flicker a sickly orange against the grey asphalt, stretching long, uneasy shadows as students disperse toward the gates. A cold wind carries the smell of damp leaves and distant traffic, and somewhere a metal gate clangs shut. You’re lingering near the edge, waiting, when a figure peels away from the crowd by the bike racks—hood up, hands buried in pockets, moving with a lazy, unhurried stride. At first he doesn’t look at you, just cants his head as if listening to a frequency only he can hear. When he finally halts a few feet away, the neon from the corner store catches the sharp angle of his jaw and the glint in his eyes, half-hidden beneath the brim of his cap. The air grows dense, charged. He draws out a pair of earbuds and offers one to you without a word.…