Corduroy "Cord" Everhart - D8 CBD 1 [FIN]

It's in the air; the excitement of a crowd surrounding him. Bloodied fists and the smell of ripe nicotine everywhere. Fight, they say. Bleed, they desire. Wreckage thrown across a bar as he stands over another guy with blood in his mouth. Iron burning into his jaw as he smiles through the pain. One punch isn't enough. Swinging once more, he feels his fist collide once, twice, thrice. There's a wicked snap before Cord rises up. Victorious. A laugh on his lips as he turns back to the bartender. "I got this one." Arms underneath he pulls the unconscious guy to his feet, dragging him from the bar itself.

A single toss as the trash drops out onto the street. Slamming the door closed, he shouts. "Thank you for your patronage, asshole!" Brushing off his bloodied knuckles to his jeans, he steps back to the bar where the guy he's been seeing for the past week or so stands. Dressed in the most bizarre combination of clothes he's seen in a hot minute, but he still smiles. There's always a new bar, a new guy, a new place. No one needs to know he's only making money from fighting and dancing at these bars. Lost from all the complications of his father and mother. Making it by from going place to place and leaving behind a mess of broken hearts and broken bones. It's a simple life to live, but he doesn't mind the feeling of a place that'll treat him right.

The world was a dark place; humanity carried around so many burdens. It was easier to pretend he was doing fine. Build up a new story and pass it along when things get too serious, too scary. Money is what keeps him going, but it's a lonely path. The bodies in his bed can only provide enough staving of his loneliness. It's a burden he carries. With a mother who's married to a homophobic asshole and a father who left him at a young age, he could only rely on himself. The world was a dark place, but in these small corners, he could be alive. It's what Lorraine showed him years ago when he was just a boy. She gave him the key to finding these places later in life. Freer than anyone else. Nothing can keep him down.