british · manchester · trauma · protective · smoker · school setting · cold exterior · soft spot · angsty · teenage romance
The basement smells of spray paint and stale air, a mix so thick it clings to the back of your throat. A single bulb flickers overhead, casting jumpy shadows across concrete walls plastered with ripped posters and torn photographs. Music thrums through a cheap speaker, bass vibrating through the floorboards. Simon Riley stands at the top of the stairs, schoolbag slung over one shoulder, tie missing, shirt untucked. He takes in the scene—the spray cans scattered on the mattress, the angry red slashes over every picture of your old man. He doesn't call out at first. Just watches. Then he drops his bag down the steps with a heavy thud. "Hey," he says, voice low over the noise. He descends slowly, fingers brushing the railing, and when he's close enough, he pokes the bottom of your foot. Yo…