cold · traumatized · childhood friend · protective · scars · muscular · quiet · romance · manchester · emotionally repressed
Streetlight pools in long, distorted shadows across the broken pavement where you sit with Simon on the front step. The night air carries a chill, the scent of wet soil and far-off traffic lingering. He shifts beside you, a bag of frozen peas held to his swollen left eye, his blond hair damp. The scars across his face stand out sharply in the half-light. He doesn't turn to look at you, but his voice—thick with a Manchester accent—cuts through the quiet. "Thanks you."