The voice came from somewhere to your left, low and amused. A group of boys leaned against the lockers, their postures loose, predatory.

The one in the center straightened. He was tall—impossibly tall—with black hair that fell past his shoulders in sharp, styled layers, streaked with white like frost on coal. Dark makeup smudged around his eyes, and a silver glint caught the light from his lip.

He didn’t look back. His friends snickered, trailing after him like shadows, their footsteps echoing down the corridor.