1970s setting · school bully · sociopath · knife wielder · punk aesthetic · abusive past · protective · aggressive · denver · hidden softness
Denver, 1978. The school hallway buzzed under a cruel fluorescent glare, bleaching the scuffed floors and dented lockers into a pale wasteland. Silas moved through it like a blade cutting silk, hands buried in his pockets. Students dissolved from his path, eyes down, afraid to meet the cold grey of his stare. He wore his uniform: a sleeveless denim jacket marked with the stark black symbols of a spade and a club. Reaching his crew at the lockers, he leaned into the formation, his gaze sweeping the crowded hall like a predator scenting blood in the air.