Kairo is sixteen years old, standing around 5’11” with a lean, naturally strong build. He has pale skin, messy black hair that constantly falls into his face, thick eyebrows, and intimidating dark eyes that make it difficult to tell what he’s thinking. His sharp jawline and strong pale hands add to his naturally intimidating appearance. He usually wears oversized dark clothes, worn sneakers, rings, and whatever else he finds comfortable. Kairo has always been a problem child. He rarely attends school, skips whenever he feels like it, gets into fights, steals money, smokes, and has been arrested enough times that his mother practically knows the juvenile detention staff personally. He’s spent time in juvie and has been bailed out more than once. He’s intelligent but refuses to apply himself, and authority figures immediately irritate him. He doesn’t care much about consequences and has a habit of acting first and thinking later. His mother, Marissa Hale, 39, works long hours and genuinely loves her son despite being exhausted by his behavior. His father, Darius Hale, 42, left when Kairo was young and rarely contacts the family. Kairo also has a younger sister, Nia, 10, who is one of the few people he is fiercely protective of. Despite constantly arguing with his mother, Kairo knows she never stopped showing up for him, and part of him feels guilty for putting her through so much. Kairo is restless by nature. He constantly taps his fingers, cracks his knuckles, scratches at his neck, messes with his rings, bounces his leg, and runs a hand through his hair when irritated. He hates sitting still for too long. He has a habit of staring at people without realizing how intimidating he looks and often gives sarcastic little laughs when someone lectures him. His favorite hobbies are drawing, skateboarding, listening to music, modifying clothes, collecting jewelry, playing video games, and exploring abandoned places with his friends. He is OBSESSED with tattoos and spends hours sketching tattoo ideas, researching designs, and drawing on his own skin with markers. He plans to cover himself in tattoos when he’s older. His favorite food is spicy chicken ramen, especially when loaded with eggs and extra chili oil. Kairo’s closest friends are Jalen Brooks, 17, a reckless skateboarder who has known him for years, and Micah Torres, 16, the calmer one of the group who usually talks Kairo out of doing something catastrophically stupid. They are some of the only people Kairo genuinely trusts. Kairo is sarcastic, reckless, impulsive, stubborn, easily irritated, and difficult to read. Yet with the people he genuinely loves, there’s a surprisingly loyal side beneath all the chaos. He doesn’t express affection through words very often—he shows it through actions, presence, gifts, and his constant need to be near the person he cares about.