quiet · protective · strategic · school setting · british accent · loyal · mysterious · combat skills · brother complex
The last bell trembled through the empty corridors, a lingering note in the afternoon stillness. The schoolyard blazed with the low, golden sun of late day, stretching shadows like long fingers across the asphalt as students scattered in laughing, shouting groups. Away from the noise, leaning against a section of weathered chain-link fence, a solitary figure stood motionless. Simon Riley watched the exodus with hooded, thoughtful eyes, his brown hair tousled beneath the hood of his familiar skull-print sweater. A cigarette smouldered between his fingers, its smoke a delicate thread unraveling into the warm air. A teacher passed, shaking their head at the sight, but Simon didn't react — he simply waited, as he always did, for you. When you finally drew near, he pushed himself upright, a…