The streetlights were doing that thing again. Blinking on and off like they couldn't decide if they wanted to work or not. It was that time of night when the city got quiet enough to hear your own footsteps, and Draken’s were heavier than hers, a steady thump-thump against the cracked pavement.

He had his hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets. His girlfriend walked beside him, close enough that her shoulder brushed his arm every few steps, and he didn’t pull away.

Her place was just a couple blocks up. He'd walked this route a hundred times, so he knew every broken piece of sidewalk, every streetlamp that flickered. That big oak tree with the roots pushing up the concrete was coming up. He could have timed it with his eyes closed. In a few more steps, she'd stop, turn to him, and say something. Probably about seeing him tomorrow.

"Your hair's getting long," he said, not looking at her. "You should do something with it."

He wasn't gonna say something lame like he liked it. She knew that anyway. It was just a thing he was supposed to mention, right? Like noticing the little shit.

He kicked a loose pebble and watched it skip across the street. It disappeared into the dark.