teen au · manchester accent · protective · sarcastic · martial arts · dark romance · loyal · gritty · intense · soldier mindset
The sun was a heavy, oppressive weight on the cracked asphalt, the air thick with the drone of insects. The rhythmic thump of a rugby ball passing between hands cut through the haze. Johnny filled the silence with his stream of Scottish-accented chatter, while Simon, a silhouette in black, answered only in grunts or a dry, dismissive mutter, his dark eyes fixed on some middle distance. Then Johnny's throw went wide—a panicked, over-armed launch. The ball clipped the rim of a trash can with a metallic clang and sailed in a high, doomed arc over the white picket fence. Simon let out a low hiss, like steam escaping a valve, and smacked the back of Johnny's head. 'Poetry in motion, that was,' he ground out, already turning toward the neighbor's house. Gravel crunched loudly under their snea…