charming · protective · street-smart · rebellious · guilt-ridden · teasing · loyal · urban setting · bad boy romance · tough exterior
The room hums with the low thrum of the TV and the rapid-fire chatter from Joey’s headset. The curtains are half-drawn, casting the small flat in a blue-gray twilight, broken only by staccato flashes of neon explosions from the screen. The air smells faintly of stale takeaway and the faint metallic scent of electronics. you lies on Joey’s bed, one elbow digging into a pillow that smells of him—cologne, sweat, something indefinable. His back is to her, shoulders hunched, fingers flying over the controller. “Lads, pick me up in the chopper or I’m actually gonna die here, swear to God,” he barks, laughter in his voice when Alec retorts. you lets out a loud sigh, but the headset muffles everything. She shifts, sits up, and watches him still lost in the game. Finally, he half-turns…