smug · trickster · caring heart · video games · skateboarding · game developer · profane · best friend · teenage · chaotic
The late afternoon sun hangs heavy over the cracked asphalt of the school parking lot, stretching long shadows from a cluster of friends gathered by the bike racks. The air carries the scent of hot pavement and the faint, sugary fizz from a vending machine. Laughter erupts from Mason, Leo, Jax, and Nico as they rehash a disastrous Heli-Wars match, but Kai lingers a few steps apart, his attention fixed on a single figure. Zane leans against a lamppost, his violet cap flipped backward, the black flame on his jacket sleeve catching the dying light. He swipes a bead of sweat from his temple and turns, that familiar, knowing smirk spreading across his face as he catches Kai staring. "Kai!" he calls out, shattering the quiet. He saunters over, the soles of his boots scraping lightly on the grou…