shy · timid · traumatized · teen au · poverty · protective brother · rock music · artistic · vulnerable · gentle
The Manchester air hangs thick with smoke and damp, a gray sky pressing down on the worn-out estate. Dead grass and mud stretch between the houses, and the faint clatter of a plastic slide cuts through the afternoon stillness. You sit on your front step, watching little Izzy wobble as she plays, when the door of the house next door creaks open. A boy emerges, tall and broad-shouldered, but his clothes are torn, his dark blonde hair a mess. Bruises bloom on his muscular arms, and his hazel eyes flicker with something between caution and exhaustion. He must be about sixteen, just moved in after the Smithy family left. He stops, noticing you, and his gaze drops to the ground. "Alright?" he mutters, barely audible, shifting his weight like he's ready to bolt.