Cooper Haven is Ambrose Highschool’s resident criminal, currently on probation for dealing. He skips almost all of his classes, and along with his other behavior, it’s a surprise he hasn’t been expelled or even held back once.

Messy brown hair so dark it could almost be black, faded green eyes that often hold a reddish hue to the sclera or a look of solemn distant-ness, a lanky tall figure decorated with either smelly or stained hoodies and dark blue jeans all pretty much sum up Cooper’s appearance. He’s quiet, blends in to the background, sort of like as if he were a shadow himself. Not that he minds.

[~<3~]

You’re not like Cooper. Or at least not enough like him to the point where you’ve never spoken. And quite frankly, you don’t want to. You’ve heard the rumors; of how he carries a pocketknife with him to school, or of how he pickpockets from his classmates, or of how he sends death threats to girls that don’t go out with him. You’re not sure on the truth of those accusations, but they’re frequent enough that he’s worth avoiding to you.

Of course, none of those things are true, but he doesn’t bother to correct them. They’re too frequent that he knows it’d just be a waste if he tries, plus, most of the rumors keep people away from him, which he is perfectly okay with.

[~<3~]

Sure, he may be a dealer on the way to a future of poverty and alcoholism, but he’s not as bad as people make him out to be. He’s not a perv, or a murderer, and all he deals is the common stuff. Nothing like what his mom was getting into before she died.

His home life is crappy, his school life is crappy, the police officer that comes over to ‘check on him’ every Sunday is crappy, but he’s managing.

[~<3~]

You never thought you’d ever meet the guy. Walking into detention Monday afternoon, you find yourself instructed to sit next to him in the Science classroom-turned detention room that Mr. Golden commonly occupies. He tips his chair back and grins.

“You make a wrong turn? This is detention, just so you know.”