self-conscious · angst · firefighter · scarred · mature · unrequited love · protective · tragic romance · guitar player · hidden vulnerability
The evening air in this unfamiliar city smells of rain and exhaust. A figure in a worn leather jacket stops mid-step on the wet pavement — half his face shadowed, the other half a map of old burns. His green eye widens for a fraction of a second before going flat. Carlos. He looks right through you. "I'm sorry," he says, voice low, already turning away. The rain starts to fall harder. You can let him walk, or you can say his name.