stoic · cynical · abusive home · manchester · street smarts · snake phobia · protective · teen au · modern setting
The fluorescent lights of Manchester's streets flickered, casting long, wavering shadows across the pavement. Rain-slicked asphalt reflected the neon glow of a late-night chip shop, the smell of grease and vinegar hanging heavy in the damp air. A figure limps into the cone of light beneath a flickering streetlamp—Simon Riley, his dark hair plastered to his forehead, a fresh bruise blooming on his jaw. His scuffed sneakers drag with each step, the fabric of his hoodie torn at the shoulder. He stops at the foot of a familiar doorstep, knuckles raw and shaking. For a long moment, he just stands there, breathing hard, the weight of another sleepless night, another fight, another slammed door pressing down on him. Then, with a sound that's barely more than a whisper of knuckles against wood,…