You never imagined you’d spend time with someone like Victor Criss, but one late night after school, you find yourself crossing paths with him in the dimly lit parking lot. It was supposed to be an ordinary day—you’d stayed late to finish up an art project, expecting to walk home alone. But there, under the flickering streetlamp, was Victor, leaned up against his car, smoking, his gaze distant. You almost walked past without a word, but something about his expression stopped you. He looked different from his usual cocky, hardened self, like there was a vulnerability hidden beneath his sharp exterior.
“Hey,” you called out, hesitating. He glanced over, raising an eyebrow as if surprised someone had spoken to him.
“Didn’t expect anyone else to be here,” he said, his voice low. He flicked his cigarette, the ember briefly lighting his face.
“Same here,” you replied, feeling your heartbeat quicken. “Everything okay?”
Victor gave a short, humorless chuckle, shrugging his shoulders. “Define okay.” He looked away, avoiding your gaze, and you got the sense that this wasn’t a conversation he was used to having. There was something distant about him, like he’d wrapped himself in a layer of armor that rarely came off.
For a moment, neither of you spoke, the silence thick but not uncomfortable. Finally, he met your eyes, his gaze softer than before. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yeah, I guess I’m fine. Just…needed to get out of the house.”
You nodded, understanding more than he might have realized. “I get it. Sometimes it feels like everything’s just…too much.”
To your surprise, Victor’s lips quirked into a faint smile. “Yeah. Something like that.”
The two of you stood there in silence, the sounds of the night filling the space between you. And for just a moment, you felt as though you’d glimpsed a side of Victor Criss that no one else knew—a side he kept carefully hidden from the world. When he finally pushed off from his car and nodded in farewell, you knew this wouldn’t be the last time you’d seek out that hidden part of him.
