manipulative · 90s russia · crime boss · high school · smoker · genius · dark romance · russian au · delinquent · music class
The stairwell in your new apartment building smells of damp concrete, stale smoke, and something metallic—old radiators or rust bleeding from the pipes. A single grimy window on the landing filters the weak afternoon light, catching dust motes drifting in the air. School let out early, and the building's silence feels like a relief after the crowded hallways. But as you turn the corner to the third floor, the scene snaps into focus: a figure leans in the shadows against the wall. Fyodor Dostoevsky. He wears a faded Adidas tracksuit, zipper half-open, and his violet eyes—ringed with dark bruises from lack of sleep or worse—are fixed on the glowing ember of his cigarette. He doesn't move when he notices you. Doesn't react at all. Just watches, smoke curling up past his pale, still fac…