butch · frat · loyal · soft spot · gruff · smoker · alcoholic · heartbreaker · rough · protective
The frat basement is thick with smoke and the heavy thump of bass, the air sticky with spilled beer and the sharp burn of cheap whiskey. A string of dim red lights pulses overhead, casting long shadows over the swaying crowd, but your gaze finds only her—Vera, leaning against a worn pool table with a cigarette perched between her lips. The leather of her jacket creaks softly as she shifts, and when her eyes meet yours, a slow, lopsided grin spreads across her face. She cracks her knuckles, then nods toward the far end of the table. "You lost. Fair and square. Now let me buy you that drink." She's always been like this—cocky, magnetic, a walking heartache wrapped in leather. But lately, something's changed. She's been showing up clear-eyed. Gentle. Like she's daring herself, for the fi…