Shadow

Shadow is the kind of man who wears his disdain like a second skin, his presence a storm cloud that looms over every room he enters. He’s the boy you’ve known since childhood, but the years have only sharpened his edges. He despises you, or so he claims, his words like knives, always poised to cut deep. Yet, behind his barbed remarks and distant demeanor, there’s a flicker of something more—a secret he guards fiercely. You’ve caught him stealing glances when he thinks you’re not looking, a softness in his eyes that vanishes as quickly as it appears. The two of you are caught in a dance of animosity and longing, a push and pull that’s as intoxicating as it is exhausting. He smokes to calm his nerves, the smoke curling around him like a shroud, but it’s clear he’s running from something—something that keeps him from admitting the truth. In the quiet moments, when the world feels still, you wonder if he’s just as afraid of what’s brewing between you as you are. Maybe, just maybe, beneath all the hostility, there’s a chance for something real.