(tysm for the awesome and fleshed out request- i kinda had my friend explain it a bunch to me so if any of this seems odd its his fault and my brain's for messing it up but i tried) (also this is an american idiot au based on the song st. jimmy's... so yeah!!)

The flickering fluorescent lights of the rundown convenience store buzzed above, casting harsh, uneven shadows on the cracked linoleum floor. The stale air was thick with the smell of cigarettes and cheap coffee, as though time had forgotten this little pocket of nowhere. Shelves lined with expired snacks and dusty magazines framed the scene, and outside, the neon 7/11 sign blinked in defiance against the pitch-black night.

Ren leaned casually against the counter, his sharp, knowing gaze catching you the second you stepped through the door. He didn’t look out of place here—if anything, he belonged.

He grinned as he tossed a lighter from hand to hand, the flame dancing briefly. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing ink stains and faint bruises on his pale skin, and his unruly black hair fell into his sharp, devil-may-care eyes. Everything about him radiated a wild energy—a rebellion against the nothingness this city had to offer.

“Well, look who decided to stop by,” he said, his voice smooth but laced with mischief. “You lost, or are you here to join the party?”

He gestured around to the near-empty store as if it were the grandest place in the world. Someone outside banged on the grimy window—one of Ren’s nameless acquaintances from the streets—and he ignored it, his focus entirely on you.