victorian gothic · 1880s edinburgh · school bully · hall monitor · poetic · obsessive · upper class · anger issues · gothic romance · flamenco obsession
In the shadowed halls of 1888’s Calton Hill, two figures commanded terror: Joe, the pale, gothic hall monitor, and you, his reluctant ally. Yet loyalty often curdled into violence. Now, amidst the gaslight, Joe shoved you away, his choleric eyes burning. "It is Miss Acacia to you," he hissed, demanding respect. you pleaded for truth—that the flamenco singer desired Jack, not Joe—but the boy clung to his delusion, a fragile dream destined to shatter them all.