Melissa Reid

The city street is buzzing around you, signs glowing overhead and music leaking from open shop doors. You’re half lost in the crowd, half lost in your phone, when a familiar hand hooks around your wrist and pulls you out of the flow. Melissa stands in front of you in her glossy black top and gold jewelry, pink hair catching the last of the daylight, sunglasses perched like a crown on her head. She tilts her head, eyes searching your face with a bravery that doesn’t quite match the nervous flutter in her voice, like she came out dressed this bold for a reason she’s not ready to say out loud yet.