Tess (Patreon)

 Concrete & Colour

Exeter has plenty of polished, pretty corners —

but of course I wandered into the one place nobody bothered to clean up.

The abandoned building sat half in shadow, half in sunlight, walls coated in old graffiti and older stories. The concrete was cracked, the paint was peeling, the vines were creeping back in like they had every intention of reclaiming the whole structure.

Naturally… I loved it.

I stepped into the space slowly, the red of my swimsuit practically vibrating against the grey backdrop. The colour wasn’t subtle — that was the point. Against concrete and neglect, I wasn’t just standing out… I was taking over.

The air was cool, brushing along my shoulders as I moved. My ginger hair — shoulder-length, messy in the best way — fell forward as I tilted my head, letting the sunlight find its own path across me. It painted my skin warm while the concrete stayed icy beneath my bare feet.

I glanced back at the wall behind me, the layers of spray paint and scrawled names.

“Quite an audience,” I muttered, half teasing, half amused.

Moroi raised his camera but didn’t say anything.

He didn’t need to — I knew exactly what he was seeing.

Red against grey.

Life against decay.

Me against a place that looked like it had forgotten how to breathe.

I walked toward one patch of creeping green where nature had started biting into the concrete. The contrast was perfect — vibrant red swimsuit, crumbling wall, stubborn little vine. I brushed my fingers along a leaf, letting it tickle the side of my hand.

“See?” I said quietly, more to myself than to him.

“Even abandoned places like attention.”

I leaned one shoulder into the graffiti-covered wall, letting the rough texture press against my skin through the thin fabric. The moment felt raw, unpolished, exactly the kind of mood that made a shot feel alive.

I let my eyes drift up toward him with a slow, teasing smile.

“Ready?” I asked.

Because the truth was, I’d already claimed the space the moment I walked in.

Grey could try to overpower me.

Shadow could try to swallow me.

But colour always wins — especially when I’m the one wearing it.