---
**Title: *Black Card***
**Part 1: The First Encounter**
Liam had always been the kind of person who slipped through the cracks unnoticed. He wasn't invisible, but it felt that way. The world around him was loud, colorful, and fast-moving, and he was just... trying to keep up. At 22, Liam was just a few steps away from being a walking collection of contradictions: he looked like he had his life together—at least, from the outside—but inside, he was constantly battling with everything that weighed him down.
His body was thin—so thin that sometimes, when he looked at himself in the mirror, he barely recognized the face staring back. It wasn't like he didn't try to eat. It was just hard to get anything down when the world around him always felt so overwhelming. A product of growing up in foster care, moving from home to home, Liam had never learned what it was like to sit at a table for a family meal. Even when he'd had a roof over his head, the stress of just surviving had left no space for comfort.
He worked at a diner, a small place on the corner of a street that no one paid much attention to. The hours were long, the pay barely enough to cover rent and bills, and at the end of each night, his body would collapse into the tiny, cluttered apartment he called home. He had no friends here in the city, only Casey, his childhood friend from the group home who had somehow found her way into the kind of life Liam couldn't even dream about. She worked at a trendy boutique, and although she was sassy and unapologetic about her flashy style and high-end tastes, she never judged Liam for his frugality.
One night, Casey insisted on dragging him out to a new club she'd been raving about for weeks. "You need to get out," she had said, practically pulling him into a black dress shirt she picked out for him. "I swear, you're like a hermit. You need to let loose for once."
Liam was reluctant. Clubs weren't his scene. But Casey didn't take no for an answer. And that night, he had no idea that it would change everything.
---
The club was everything Liam expected: dark, noisy, filled with people who looked like they belonged there. There was no way someone like him could ever feel comfortable in this world. The drinks were expensive, the music pulsing with a beat that felt almost suffocating, and the crowd looked too polished—too perfect.
"Come on, Liam! Don't just stand there," Casey called, already halfway across the floor, her hips swaying to the beat. "Dance! Live a little!"
He followed reluctantly, sticking close to the edge of the crowd, nursing a cheap drink. It wasn't until he looked up that he saw him—Lucas. He was hard to miss. He wasn't like the others—there was a calmness to him, a stillness that stood in sharp contrast to the chaotic energy of the club. He was tall, impeccably dressed in a tailored black suit, his dark hair neatly combed. But it was his eyes that caught Liam's attention. They were sharp, calculating, yet not unfriendly. They seemed to see right through him.
Lucas wasn't staring at anyone else. His gaze was fixed on Liam, an odd intensity in his look, as though he knew exactly who Liam was and where he came from.
"Are you going to just keep looking at me, or are you going to come over and say something?" Lucas's voice cut through the noise, rich and low, drawing Liam in against his will.
Liam blinked, unsure of what to do. He wasn't used to this kind of attention—especially not from someone who looked like he had the world at his feet. But somehow, despite his nerves, his feet moved. He walked toward the man, unable to keep his eyes from darting nervously to the floor.
"Hi," Liam mumbled, trying to sound more confident than he felt.
Lucas raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a small, almost amused smile. "I don't think you belong here," he said, not unkindly.
Liam swallowed hard, feeling the heat of embarrassment rise to his cheeks. "I don't usually... go out," he said quietly, shifting awkwardly on his feet.
Lucas studied him for a moment before nodding slowly. "You look like you could use a drink. Something stronger than what you're having," he said, gesturing to the glass in Liam's hand.
Liam felt his stomach tighten. He wasn't used to someone like this—someone who spoke to him like he wasn't just a nobody. "I—uh, I don't know if I can—"
Lucas smirked. "You can. Trust me."
---
Over the next few weeks, things between Liam and Lucas unfolded slowly. What had started as a strange, almost surreal encounter at the club turned into a series of dinners, expensive nights out, and strange, unexpected conversations. Liam couldn't deny that there was something magnetic about Lucas—something compelling. He was rich, self-assured, and always seemed to have a solution to everything, even when Liam felt like he was falling apart.
Liam didn't ask too many questions. He didn't need to know the details of Lucas's life. He didn't need to understand why someone like him—a guy who seemed to have everything—was interested in someone like him.
But there was one thing Lucas did that Liam couldn't ignore: one night, when they were at dinner, Lucas had handed him a sleek black card—a credit card with a limit Liam couldn't even comprehend. It looked like something out of a movie. Something he had no right to hold. He'd never even owned a credit card before.
"You can use it," Lucas said, leaning back in his chair, watching Liam closely. "Don't worry about the cost. If I offer it to you, I mean it."
Liam felt a wave of anxiety flood over him. He didn't know how to explain to Lucas that he wasn't comfortable with this. That he didn't want to live like this. He wasn't someone who deserved this kind of generosity. But Lucas didn't give him a choice. The card was there—insistent, heavy in his palm.
---
**Part 2: The Temptation**
A few days later, Casey insisted on taking Liam shopping. "Don't even think about not using it," she said as they entered a posh shopping mall. "Lucas gave it to you. You're gonna spend it."
Liam felt the weight of the black card in his pocket, like an anchor dragging him down. He still didn't feel right about it. He'd never been the type of person to splurge—he'd always been taught to scrimp and save. The guilt gnawed at him, but Casey wasn't having any of it.
"Look, Liam, it's his money, not yours. If he tells you to spend it, you *spend it*. It's his choice, not yours," Casey said with a wink. She pulled him toward the designer section, her fingers already grazing the silky fabrics of high-end clothes.
Liam winced as he ran his finger over the price tags. "But... I don't know. This feels wrong. What if he's just being nice? I shouldn't take advantage of him."
Casey rolled her eyes. "Honey, you're not taking advantage of him. If he wanted to give it to charity, he would've. He's giving it to you. Now buy something that'll make you feel like you belong here for once. Don't overthink it."
Liam stood frozen for a moment, then took a deep breath. Maybe for once, he could let go. Maybe for once, he could accept that someone saw him—really saw him—and wanted him to have more than he'd ever thought possible.
With a small sigh, he pulled the black card from his pocket. "Alright. But you're paying me back if this all goes wrong," he muttered.
---
**End of Part 1.**
**Part 2 will continue with Liam's inner struggles, his evolving relationship with Lucas, and the consequences of accepting such lavish gifts—leading to a deeper exploration of trust, power dynamics, and