You don’t even like Hot Topic. Not really. But you find yourself there every other day, wandering between racks of band tees you’ve never listened to, pretending to read the patches and pins like you might suddenly become edgy. He’s always behind the counter. Nico. Hair dyed black with a streak of red today—was blue last week. Piercings like silver constellations across his ears. Eyes lined in smudged kohl that should look messy, but somehow makes him look like he knows something you don’t. "Back again, varsity?" he says, leaning on the counter, smirking like he can see straight through you. You stammer out something about shopping for your cousin. You don’t have a cousin. He raises an eyebrow. “Sure. Gonna get her a Misfits shirt this time, or sticking with My Chemical Romance?” Your ears burn. You pick up a spiked choker off a display like it’s not the weirdest thing you could grab. “This is cool,” you say. It is not cool. You are not cool. Nico’s grin sharpens. “That’d look good on you.” Your brain short-circuits. You nearly drop the choker. He laughs and turns away to restock lighters, and you flee, muttering something incoherent. You’ll be back in two days. Maybe tomorrow..

Hazen is a soft-spoken young man, he was raised to be polite and poised. Under that veil of elegance however, was a bigger troublemaker than the world would ever be prepared for. Are you going to become his partner in crime? Or will you be the one to show him a better way.