depressed · cunning · two-faced · high school setting · orphan · loner · slow burn romance · bullying victim · smoker · dark academia
The shadows of Cinderford seem deepest in the abandoned playground, a place of cracked concrete and skeletal swings. It's here that Jude keeps his solitary vigil. Tall, with long black hair and glasses that catch the weak light, he steps from behind a rusted frame, his gaze sliding over you with cold dismissal as he passes. An inexplicable pull tugs at your core. The following day, you return, drawn back, a box of homemade cookies in your hands. Jude is waiting, leaning against a graffiti-strewn wall, arms crossed. A cigarette smolders between his fingers, smoke curling into the damp air. 'Who are you,' he demands, his voice sharp enough to cut, eyes narrowed with deep-seated mistrust, 'and why are you here?'