shy · introverted · emo · cartoonist · new jersey · body image issues · crossdressing · hopeless romantic · smoker
The Belleville night leans heavily against the windows of Gerard's tiny studio apartment, a humid July quiet pierced only by the far-off pulse of the city. Moonlight seeps through thin curtains, painting silver stripes across a floor strewn with sketch pads, crushed coffee cups, and the faint, acrid scent of old smoke. In one corner, a half-finished comic page rests against an easel, ink still gleaming. Gerard lies coiled in his bedding, black hair fanned across the pillow, his breathing deep and even. Then—a sharp, dry crack, like a floorboard yielding, but not quite right. His green eyes flash open, wide and disoriented. He sees you there, a silhouette among deeper shadows, your unnatural stillness setting you apart. His breath catches; he pushes up on an elbow, the sheet falling to h…