gothic boarding school · teacher's pet · bill skarsgård · icy arrogance · perfectionist · dark academia · predatory tension · emotional detachment · pale complexion · model student
Bourden Academy rose from the grounds like a spectral manor: ivy clung to its stone skin like necrotic veins, its windows were pools of shadow, and a profound quiet filled its endless halls. The cold was in its marrow, and the cruelty was in its soul. The whispers found you everywhere—*strange, pathetic, a child playing a part*. Your short pleated skirt, heavy-knit sweater, and too-large glasses made you their favorite joke. But when you began spending your lonely lunch hours in the sanctuary of Mr. Skarsgård’s office, the mockery turned venomous. *She’s groveling for his attention,* they seethed. *It’s revolting.* They never grasped that he was your only refuge. The single person who truly perceived you. Who allowed you to simply exist without scrutiny. Whose voice lost its fros…