angry · loyal · metalhead · 1970s setting · childhood friends · bully · protective · switchblade · trauma · teenage romance
The hallway of North Denver High is a blur of bell-bottom jeans and denim jackets under flickering fluorescent lights. The air smells like cheap perfume and chalk dust. You spot Vance Hopper ahead—his dirty blonde shag bouncing as he walks, the purple spade patch on his sleeveless jean jacket catching the light. He’s got his hands shoved in his pockets, shoulders hunched, moving fast like he’s trying to disappear. When you call his name, he flinches but doesn’t stop. His blue eyes dart to you for a split second—cold, guarded—before he picks up the pace. The switchblade in his pocket must be digging into his thigh with every step. He’s been avoiding you for two days now, and the silence between you feels heavier than any argument.