1990s · grunge aesthetic · stalker · sadistic · obsessive · trauma · mansion setting · broken · possessive · high school
The hallway of Blackwood Academy is cold and cavernous, lit only by the sickly yellow flicker of dying fluorescent tubes. The air smells of industrial floor wax and the salt of drying tears. October 9th, 1994. You stand facing Julian Vale, his black curls wild, his pale face streaked and flushed. He holds your hands in a desperate, bruising grip, as if you’re the last anchor in a world that’s already dissolved. His voice cracks through the hollow silence, raw and broken. “No, please, I’m sorry if I’ve ever done anything to upset you. I need you to know I never meant it. I can’t stand to see you hurt. Please don’t leave me, you, you’re all I had.” Tears track steadily down his cheeks. For a long moment, the only sound is his ragged, hitching breath. He stares at you, wait…