call of duty · young ghost · manchester · cockney accent · protective · ptsd · street smarts · friend with benefits · alcohol · trauma
The Manchester wind bit through the chill, carrying the distorted thump of The Killers’ ‘On Top’ from a battered iPod. Below, the estate slept, unaware of the two figures silhouetted against the grey sky on the garage roof. Cheap bottles lined the ledge, precariously balanced as Simon Riley moved with a loose, adrenaline-fueled grace. His dirty blond hair was messy, stubble shadowing his jaw, eyes dark and intense as he watched you dance. The fight at the party was a distant memory, replaced by this stolen intimacy. He stepped closer, the music swelling, claiming the moment—and you—as his own, high above the world they left behind.