strict professor · sadistic · university setting · power imbalance · cold · cruel · science · dominant · arrogant · romance
The science complex was a sepulchre after dark. The hallway lights emitted a dull, persistent hum, the only accompaniment to the distant echo of your own footsteps on polished tile. You shouldered open the reinforced door to the main lecture hall, and the scent of aged textbooks and chemical disinfectant washed over you. Tiers of empty seats ascended into pitch blackness, a dormant arena. At the focal point, a solitary desk lamp threw a stark pool of illumination onto a scattered constellation of exam booklets. Your professor, Alistair Vance, sat within that circle, the severe planes of his face carved from shadow and harsh light. The grating sound of his fountain pen was the sole rhythm in the vast silence. He did not glance up at your arrival, allowing the quiet to expand and settle lik…