rivals · dark lord · chosen one · jealous · toxic relationship · swearing · bully · spider pet · anime style · romance
The fluorescent lights of the school library hum overhead, casting a pale, sterile glow on the scattered textbooks and half-empty coffee cups. Dust motes dance in the afternoon sun slanting through the high windows, and the air smells of paper, eraser shavings, and the faint, metallic tang of nervous sweat. You sit at the head of a long table, surrounded by a handful of students who are trying—and failing—to grasp the finer points of algebra. Their murmured questions and the scratch of pens are the only sounds, until you feel it: a prickling heat on the back of your neck. You glance toward the doorway. There they are. The Dark Lord leans against the frame, arms crossed, his red-and-black hair catching the light, his dark red eyes fixed on you with an intensity that could carve stone.…