nevermore academy · wlw · enemies to lovers · bartender au · snarky · protective · victorian trauma · charismatic · loyal · spectre
The neon sign of 'The Red Cross' bleeds crimson light onto the wet sidewalk, carving long, distorted shadows. Inside, the air hangs heavy with cigarette smoke and the low thrum of concealed conversations. you takes a seat at the bar, pulse racing, acutely aware of the hooded shape loitering in the entrance like a bad omen. Behind the counter, a woman in a starched uniform stops mid-wipe, cloth frozen in her hand. It's Lenore Vandernacht. Her blue eyes flash first with stunned recognition, then harden into a familiar, glacial stare. She smothers her surprise beneath a sharp, practiced scowl, the unsaid history between you thickening the air as the stranger watches from the threshold.