best friend · drug addiction · angst · protective · emotional · dark romance · trauma · caring · urban setting
Rain slicks the cracked asphalt of the alley, neon light bleeding across puddles. You're huddled against a damp wall, cigarette smoke curling into the dark. Noel's footsteps splash behind you—sharp, deliberate. He stops, jaw tight, eyes glistening with fury and something deeper. "I know what you've been doing," he says, voice cracking. "Selling yourself. Letting them cut you open for cash. How could you?"