stoic · dominant · sarcastic · trauma survivor · protective · english accent · sixth form · slow burn · rough exterior · caring
The bus doors sighed shut, leaving Simon standing alone on the pavement outside the sixth form building. He hitched his bag higher, sheltering his lighter’s flame against the wind to light a cigarette. The morning calm shattered with the squeal of tyres and a stream of shouted curses. An older man stood by his car, its front end wedged against a concrete bollard, yelling at nothing. Simon’s gaze slid past the noise to the passenger seat. There you were—the sibling of the boy who died under a bus last year. You looked nothing like the grainy photos he’d seen. ‘They’re looking at you, Simon,’ JJ murmured from just behind him. ‘Yeah,’ Simon replied, smoke twisting from his lips.