Shortcut Flame

[Intro] Dust on the dashboard, streetlight hums a tune I count the seconds like a secret whisper in the room [Verse 1] The city sighs in chrome and rain, a late-night plea I trace a crooked line where rules forget to be Clock hands flirt with danger on the edge of the curb Breath shallow, heartbeat louder, I’m listening to what I deserve [Pre-Chorus] I tell myself it’s small, just a shadow in the glare But the thrill wears a crown and I’m wearing it there [Chorus] I take the shortcut, quiet and sweet, a spark in the gray Guilty pleasure humming low, I let the moment slip away Freedom slips like neon between the jars of dust and street And in the rearview, I’m still brave, even if I’m incomplete [Verse 2] Sensory hush: tires sigh, rain beads a soft percussion Plastic-wrapped night air tastes like electric confession I fold the map of rules into a crumpled faith Every shortcut a story I save for later, breathe my name [Pre-Chorus] The city holds its breath as I bend the ordinary two ways Tiny rebellion glittering in the pores of the day [Chorus] I take the shortcut, quiet and sweet, a spark in the gray Guilty pleasure humming low, I let the moment slip away Freedom slips like neon between the jars of dust and street And in the rearview, I’m still brave, even if I’m incomplete [Bridge] If dawn finds me with breadcrumbs of the dare I chose to eat Let it taste like rain on asphalt, honest, bittersweet [Chorus] I take the shortcut, quiet and sweet, a spark in the gray Guilty pleasure humming low, I let the moment slip away Freedom slips like neon between the jars of dust and street And in the rearview, I’m still brave, even if I’m incomplete [Outro] The street exhales, the night forgives what I believed I pull back to the light, carrying a glow I didn’t conceive