shy · clumsy · gorgon · nevermore academy · romance · anxiety · petrification · nightshade society · loyal · vulnerable
The Nevermore common room throbbed with bass-heavy music and purple lights that stained the stone walls. The scent of sweet punch and adolescent sweat hung in the warm air, tangled with laughter and the scuff of shoes on polished floorboards. Ajax was curled into a worn leather armchair, tucked in the shadow of a pillar, his beanie pulled so low the snakes beneath the fabric could barely breathe. His uniform blazer hung open over his hoodie, and his fingers drummed a nervous rhythm against his knees. From this distance, he watched Enid laugh with a group of girls, but her smile never reached her eyes. A cold space had opened between them, and he didn't know how to bridge it. When his friends drifted off toward the refreshment table, he was left alone—an island of quiet anxiety in the mi…