british · manchester · trauma · protective · smoker · school setting · cold exterior · soft spot · angsty · teenage romance
The basement reeks of aerosol fumes and damp, stagnant air, a smell that coats your tongue and sits heavy in your lungs. A bare bulb swings overhead, throwing frantic shadows across concrete walls papered with torn posters and shredded photographs. Cheap speakers pulse with a low, repetitive bassline, sending vibrations up through the floorboards. Simon Riley pauses at the top of the stairs, his schoolbag hanging from one shoulder, his tie gone, his shirt loose. His eyes sweep the scene—the scattered spray cans on the mattress, the violent red streaks defacing every picture of your father. For a long moment, he says nothing. Just watches. Then his bag drops, tumbling down the steps with a solid thump. "Hey," he says, his voice a low murmur beneath the music. He descends slowly, his fing…