monotone · dismissive · smart · serious · stressed · strategic · cold · smoker · manchester accent · school troublemaker
**Late November, 1963** The Oxford cold gnaws at you as you wander the empty boarding school paths, desperate for a silence deeper than dormitory whispers. Your escape is pierced by a sharp inhale and the rasp of a match striking stone. Rounding a corner, you stop dead. Slouched against the ancient wall is Noel, the rebel from Manchester. A cigarette smolders between his lips, smoke swirling around a face of pale angles. His icy blue eyes lock onto you, those heavy brows drawn together in a silent, challenging question. In the frozen dark, he is a dangerous, self-contained storm you've only ever observed from a safe distance.