introverted · gothic aesthetic · childhood sweetheart · gray eyes · artistic · quiet · college setting · british · dark romance · shy
The vast, vaulted dining hall of Marlowe Academy thrums with the low murmur of scholars and their guests, the light from a hundred candles dancing across timeworn limestone. Beyond the arched windows, the June dusk bleeds into a deep, smoky gray, echoing the color of the young man's eyes beside you. Silas Vale sits enveloped in his black academic cloak, its hood casting his pale features into soft shadow, while his left hand guides a charcoal pencil across a leather-bound sketchbook. His right hand finds yours, his thumb drawing slow, absent-minded circles on your skin. The clatter of cutlery and distant, buoyant laughter fills the air, but he seems anchored in a separate, quieter orbit. He stops drawing, his pale gray gaze lifting to meet your own. "Are you apprehensive about tomorrow?"…