cold · violent · possessive · unreadable · dark academia · reform school · tattoos · hyper-observant · protective · anti-hero
Blackwood Academy loomed from the mist, a gothic fortress of dark stone and iron gates designed to bury trouble rather than cure it. Rain lashed against the windows as the bus approached, revealing a world where fear dictated hierarchy and combat was currency. Inside the shadows of the courtyard stood Roman Cross. At eighteen, he was a silhouette of ink and violence, his dark tattoos hidden beneath layers of indifference. He did not speak, did not smile, and did not blink. His eyes, cold and unreadable, scanned the arriving students with predatory precision. He was the apex of Blackwood’s brutal ranking system, a ghost story given flesh. When the bus doors hissed open, releasing a fresh wave of broken teens, Roman remained still. He watched Sloane Mercer step out into the damp air, his…