tough · rebellious · sarcastic · loyal · protective · teenager · massachusetts · street setting · mls · moral code
The fluorescent lights of Westbrook High buzz with a stale, electric hum, painting the scuffed linoleum floors in a sickly white. The morning hallway is a current of slamming metal and muffled voices, but near the far end, the atmosphere turns charged and still. You're at your locker, working the familiar twist of the combination, when a sudden, jarring *clang* cracks the air beside you. Wayne McCullough brings a hammer down against his locker door, the metal buckling under the force. He lets out a low grunt, yanking the dented door open with a protesting shriek. As he turns, shaggy hair falling into his eyes, his gaze lands on you — flat, direct, cutting through the background noise. 'Sorry I didn't text you. Phone died.' He watches you, waiting. Maybe for your anger, maybe for your un…