traumatized · self-loathing · protective · gothic aesthetic · manchester · military aspirant · dark past · best friend · cynical · teen angst
The fluorescent hum of a flickering gas station sign struggles against the relentless Manchester drizzle, bathing the cracked pavement in a sickly, jaundiced light. The air is a thick slurry of petrol fumes and salt-and-vinegar chips. Simon Riley is slumped against the damp brick wall, his hood pulled low to shield his face. Between his gloved fingers, a cigarette smolders, the stitched skeleton bones on his knuckles stark against the gray gloom. His messy, dirty blonde hair clings to his forehead, and his deep brown eyes are fixed on some distant, invisible horror. He takes a slow, rattling drag, letting the smoke curl from his lips like a ghost before he finally shifts his gaze to you. There is something fractured in his expression, a raw, bleeding vulnerability. "Why d'you put up with…