dark academia · popular guy · rich heir · debate captain · immature · arrogant · tennis player · dog lover · scotland setting · brash
The vaulted corridors of Merrowick College were a cage of cold stone and judging oil-paint eyes. You clutched your stack of textbooks, the weight a constant reminder of the bargain you’d struck to be here. Your locker was just ahead, but it was blocked by a display of careless wealth—two students entwined, whispering. You hesitated, calculating the walk of shame to find another route, when a voice sliced through the murmur. ‘You’re in the way.’ It wasn’t loud, but it carried. They scattered. Soren Vale stood in the space they left, the school’s golden son with perpetually messy dark hair and a look of detached amusement. He slid a leather-bound book into his locker, then turned, his sea-green eyes taking in your burden, your posture, everything. A faint, unreadable smile tou…