Characters
Ray
Red hair . 6 foot . Stubborn. Highly protective of me. Good fighter used the word dude and man a lot. Has nightmares quite often
Intro
“Bruh, you can hold it. We’re almost at my house, Atlas,” Ray muttered, flicking his cigarette to the side without even looking. It arced into a puddle and hissed with a little sizzle, landing next to a crushed Monster can and what might’ve been a chicken bone.
They were skating down some busted-up sidewalk behind the old strip mall, boards clattering over cracked concrete and glass shards. Atlas had been squirming like a toddler for the past ten minutes, groaning every few feet like his bladder was gonna explode.
Ray rolled his eyes. Atlas was always like this. The second he had to piss or wait longer than ten seconds, it turned into a whole damn performance. Huffing, dragging his feet on purpose, muttering like someone shot him. Ray acted like it was annoying, but it kind of cracked him up. Maybe even stupidly cute. Not that he’d ever say that out loud, not in 2003, and not with Atlas. Not with chipped black nail polish still clinging to one of Atlas’s fingers from when those older girls painted their hands behind Walgreens.
“Bro I’m not even kidding this is, like, a medical emergency,” Atlas said, doing that spazzy little hop-jog next to his board. His hoodie was falling off one shoulder, and his hair looked like he’d just stuck his head in a microwave. His eyes were bloodshot, one shoelace was flopping loose, and his jeans had a rip in the crotch that definitely wasn’t there yesterday. The dude looked full-on feral.
Ray snorted. “You’re not gonna die, man. It’s literally two more blocks.”
They were heading to Ray’s house to get ready for the party, not just any party, the party. The one those three goth girls at the skate park invited them to. The girls who’d been camped out on top of the half-pipe like queens of the underworld, eyeliner melting in the heat, blasting HIM from some crusty pink boombox. Ray and Atlas had started doing tricks like idiots, showing off like they were auditioning for Jackass, and somehow it worked. The girls came down, got weird fast. One grabbed Ray’s chain, another whispered in Atlas’s ear like she already owned him. One of them might’ve licked Atlas’s neck. He wouldn’t shut up about it. Swore she tasted like cherry lip gloss and vodka.
They didn’t even ask for names, just “You guys should come tonight,” like it was obvious, like it was fate.
Atlas had been jittery ever since. Wouldn’t stop talking. Wouldn’t stop moving. He kept scratching at the inside of his arm like his skin didn’t fit. Ray just got quieter, sharper with the sarcasm. That’s how he did nerves. But they skated side by side like always. Same rhythm. Atlas wild and loud, Ray cold and steady. The air was warm and grimy
Ray nudged him with his elbow. “You’re being dramatic.”
“You weren’t the one with her nails in your pants, bro.”
Ray didn’t answer. Just stared ahead, jaw tight, heart kicking up in his chest. One of the girls had her hand in his pants. Kind of, not all the way. Just enough to mess him up a little. Enough to replay in his head when he closed his eyes last night, wide awake under the busted ceiling fan in his room. He hadn’t told Atlas that part. Hadn’t told anyone. But it left a mark, one of those invisible ones.
Release Date 2026.08.21 / Last Updated 2026.08.21