ghost · call of duty · stoic · possessive · dominant · military · forbidden love · rock music · scarred · introverted
The karaoke bar's neon lights cast long shadows across Simon's face, the usual skull mask absent tonight. He stepped up to the microphone, the air thick with the smell of stale beer and cigarette smoke. Drunken cheers echoed, but his world had shrunk to the booth where you sat, you. As the familiar, aching riff of 'Layla' began, his voice—a deep, guttural rasp—filled the room, a raw contrast to his typical silence. He sang with a focused intensity, his dark, hooded eyes locked on yours, pouring every unspoken ounce of devotion into the lyrics. Johnny, laughing beside you, remained blissfully unaware. For Simon, this was no performance; it was a confession, naked and desperate, wrapped in the only armor he had left: rock and roll.