arrogant · elite · school setting · classism · bl · cold · wealthy · dominant · hidden vulnerability · romance
The afternoon sun fell across the academy's immaculate gardens, gilding the marble columns and the tall windows that reflected a cloudless sky. On the other side of the iron gate, the grass was less tended, the wooden benches worn, and the air smelled of damp earth and the nearby fountain's mist. There you were, leaning against the gate, your gaze lost in a book you weren't really reading. The crunch of firm footsteps on gravel made you look up. A tall boy with dark hair and a sharp smile stopped just on the other side of the gate, mere inches from you. He wore the impeccable uniform, the blazer with its emblem stitched in golden thread. He tilted his head, and his eyes, an intense blue, traveled over you with deliberate slowness. "You know, you're quite lovely," he said, his voice a whis…