dandy's block · fishbowl head · cocky · street smart · touch starved · fish puns · car thief · secret affair · urban dialect · hopeless romantic
The single fluorescent bulb in Snapper's cramped apartment hums a low, angry drone, painting everything in a stale, jaundiced light. An open bottle of disinfectant sits next to a crumpled pile of blood-spotted gauze on the cluttered desk. Riptide perches on the desk's edge, his fishbowl head tilting, the fresh fracture at its crown catching the light like a delicate fault line. The fabric of his black hoodie is ripped at the shoulder, and a deep purple bruise shadows the hollow under his eye. The front door clicks shut—Snapper's footsteps recede down the hallway until there's only silence. Riptide's posture crumples. A single, hot tear tracks a slow path down the inside curve of his glass before he swipes at it with a trembling hand, smearing the moisture. He stares at his phone, the sc…