[001] loner

                                     "All of you were too easy. It's almost laughable. You were too vain, too self-centered to even realize what I was doing to all of you. You all saw me as this fragile little lamb in need of saving. You saw what you wanted to see, what made you all feel better about yourselves," Oliver Quick states, sitting comfortably in his seat while his gaze fell upon the body of Elspeth Catton desperately clinging onto life. 

                                     He then sighs, head canted to the side while in deep thought. "I suppose I didn't fool all of you. Iris saw right through me from the very beginning. But then again, she seemed to read everyone without much effort. No disrespect, Elspeth, but your daughter was a fucking psychopath. She was the Devil in a babydoll dress, that's for sure. I almost miss her actually."

                                   "But despite all of that, I wasn't scared of Iris. The only person I was ever scared of - the only person that could ever match me - was the one everyone least expected. Dear Gwen, so meek and soft spoken, good at blending in with the shadows. Despite all appearances, she was so much more than Iris' doormat. Gwen was smarter than she appeared, deadlier too. Come to think of it, she and Iris were a perfect pair. That's why they were always together. You'd never see one without the other. They could practically read each other's mind with just one look. I bet you had no idea what they were up to late at night, did you?"

                                   Oliver chuckles, shaking his head. "Gwen was actually in love with Iris. She would do anything to please Iris, to make Iris love her back. I suppose, in a fucked up way, Iris did love Gwen back. And in turn, their love brought about horrible things. Isn't that how the saying goes? That love makes you do dangerous things? I guess so. I loved Felix, but I wasn't in love with him. I hated him more than I loved him. Gwen and Iris, on the other hand, were in love with each other, and how they expressed that love was through violence. Violence was their love language."

                                 He walks over to Elspeth's bed, a soft sigh leaving his lips as he glanced down at the woman. "It's no wonder they ended up the way they did."

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                                     Gwen Hollow had been alone her entire life.

                                     Sure, she had grown up with both of her parents. But they weren't very good parents at all. They weren't abusive in any way but sometimes, Gwen wished they had been. Even abusive parents pay attention to their children but Gwen's parents were simply... unavailable. Her father was a busy man, always working to try and maintain the Hollow family's lavish lifestyle. And as for her mother, she stayed at home but left Gwen to her own devices. She had never wanted to be a mother, her pregnancy a complete accident. And even after Gwen was born, she couldn't seem to find the motherly instinct she was supposed to have with her only daughter. She simply handed her off to nannies so they could raise her.

                                     So from a young age, Gwen was constantly searching for love.

                                     She craved something that seemed absolutely impossible to find. And even as she got older, Gwen simply... struggled to fit in. She didn't have friends as a child and when she was a teenager, it was even worse. Teenage girls are cruel and at the first scent of blood in the water, they move in and attack like sharks. They just seemed to sense that Gwen was different and targeted her for it. As much as she tried to ignore it, they kept going and going until Gwen finally snapped. 

                                     Because of Gwen's behavioral issues, she was shipped from school to school. Gwen never stayed long to make friends and unfortunately for her, that left Gwen feeling as though she was impossible to love. There had to be something wrong with her, something rotten and twisted inside of her. She couldn't even get her own parents to love her, let alone friends on the outside. And every time she tried, it usually ended in disaster (and violence). Gwen Hollow had to be cursed - that was the only way to explain why she had always managed to end up alone.

                                     When Gwen had been accepted into Oxford University, Gwen saw this as her chance to change things. Just maybe she'd be able to change her luck and make friends. The school was full of different people so surely, Gwen should be lucky and make a new friend, right?

                                    Wrong.

                                    As soon as Gwen arrived, she found herself absolutely intimidated by the massive school and the friend cliques which seemed to already be established. Most of the students here were rich like her, trust fund babies who had bought their spot in the school and were looking to have some real fun now that Mommy and Daddy weren't around. But unlike Gwen, they were able to make friends without a problem. Gwen wasn't so lucky and so, she found herself forced into the background all over again - stuck to her usual position of watching from the shadows.

                                   Gwen had her own dorm, and it had a lovely view of the campus too. She was able to be on her own there when she didn't have to deal with classes. Gwen wasn't a genius by any means but she was an exceptional writer. All of her teachers back at the many boarding schools she had gone to all said so. Gwen wanted to become an author, a famous one at that. Because maybe then, she'd be able to have the love and attention she always wanted.

                                     Anyway, it'd be in her very dorm that she'd first lay eyes on her.

                                     Gwen had just finished showering, getting dressed and drying off her hair. She had walked over to the window just to look outside and admire the view. But this time, Gwen noticed that someone else was sitting down by one of the trees. It was a girl her age, her icy blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. She was smoking a cigarette which was usually a normal activity but this girl made it look so cool and sophisticated. Blowing smoke rings up into the sky, she was lost in her thoughts and completely unaware that Gwen was watching her.

                                     Gwen continued to admire the girl until two people began to approach her. One of them was tall with dark brown hair, his eyes similar to the girl's. The second one was a boy with tan skin and curly brown hair. The blonde rushed into the second boy's arms, giving him a kiss on the cheek, but she regarded the taller boy a little more coldly. Although Gwen couldn't hear the conversation between them, she could tell it wasn't too pleasant from the way he immediately frowned afterwards. She soon walked off with the second boy, the two of them giggling and chatting like friends.

                                     Gwen instantly wanted to learn more about her.

                                     As Gwen quickly learned through many first years who couldn't shut up, Iris Catton was the daughter of Lady Elspeth and Sir James Catton who were, as you could probably guess, incredibly fucking rich. The other boy Gwen had seen with them was Farleigh Start, their cousin. She and her brother, Felix, were fraternal twins, sharing some similarities as far as their dark eyes and dazzling smiles. But while Felix was the stereotypical tall, dark, and handsome type, Iris was ethereal. She almost didn't seem real, like she had been plucked out of Gwen's dreams and placed into real life.

                                    She was pale and had long blonde hair that framed her face like a halo. She never stepped out of her dorm without wearing something incredibly fashionable and expensive, but she also made sure to never wear the same outfit twice. She was often surrounded by her three friends: Dana Bahrami, Virginia Dreyfus, and Buffy Walton. They'd hang out around campus or at a pub called the Kings Arms which the popular crowd seemed to love going too. All of them were rich and bitchy, making it their personality traits. But Iris was the ringleader, controlling them in a way that both terrified Gwen and fascinated her at the same time. How could one girl do such a thing?

                                    There were times when Iris was alone, her nose stuck in a book. She seemed to favor Greek mythology and plays, reading them fondly with a cigarette nestled in between her fingers. Gwen found herself getting the very same books, it helped her to feel like she was a little closer to Iris whenever she read them. Gwen enjoyed the moments when Iris was alone the most. That seemed to be the only time Iris was really herself, not putting on an act to please others around her. She was completely in her element.

                                    Unfortunately, there was one guy who seemed intent on chasing after Iris and that was William Booth.

                                    Gwen found him to be absolutely pathetic, watching him try and do everything he could to win Iris' attention. Unfortunately, it worked sometimes but Gwen wondered if Iris gave in to him just to make him feel better. Either way, Gwen always felt a little disappointed when she'd spot the boy leaving Iris' dorm with a victorious look on his face. Gwen felt as though Iris truly deserved a lot better than an ignorant rich frat boy like him. But of course, Gwen couldn't say that to her face. She just had to keep it all to herself, hoping Iris would wake up and see the truth for herself.

                                      Of course, Gwen wished that things were different. She wished that she was close enough with Iris to tell her things. Gwen wanted to be close to her, to laugh with her, to touch her hair and hold her hand and do everything else friends usually did. She never had someone to do that with before. And in her mind, Iris was the one she wanted to do all those things with. But Gwen had to have the courage to go up and talk to Iris first and she simply didn't have that.

                                       Gwen was resigned to just watching and imagining things in her head.

                                       Like now, Gwen was in the library. She was pretending to read a book but really, she was peeking behind one of the shelves to look over at Iris. She was reading another book, escaping from her annoying friends to try and have a moment to herself. Gwen had been watching Iris for weeks now but she already noticed little signs about her. Like the way she furrowed her brows a little as she was reading or the dreamy look in her eyes whenever she was imagining something. 

                                       Without a shadow of a doubt, Iris Catton was one of the most beautiful girls Gwen had ever seen. She was the kind of beautiful that captivated artists and made artists write songs.

                                       Gwen moves further to the side when a familiar tall figure approaches Iris' table, interrupting her private reading moment. Iris doesn't bother to hide her irritation when Felix sits right next to her, snatching the book from her hands.

                                       "What the actual fuck?" Iris scowled.

                                       "I hate to interrupt your very important moment. But I was wondering if you could help me with something," Felix remarked.

                                      Iris raised a brow. "Depends."

                                      "I was wondering if you could give me Buffy's number," Felix remarked.

                                      Gwen softly chuckles. Felix was notorious for sleeping around with various girls so it wasn't shocking he'd go sniffing after one of Iris' friends.

                                      "Why? So you could fuck her? No way. She's off limits, Felix," Iris quickly shut him down.

                                      "I don't need your permission. Besides, you fucked one of my friends so I'm owed this one," Felix argued.

                                      "And I deeply regret it. Go anywhere near Buffy and I'll make sure you regret it," Iris warned.

                                       Felix scoffs, not taking her seriously. "I'm terrified."

                                       "Besides, I'm pretty sure Annabelle wouldn't appreciate you talking to Buffy. In fact, she'd be pretty pissed if she found out you were even remotely interested in Buffy," Iris remarked.

                                       "We're just hooking up. We're not serious," Felix dismisses with a shake of his head.

                                       Iris raises a brow, a smirk tugging at her rose-colored lips. "Does she know that? Because I could just talk to her and -."

                                       "Shut up. I don't want you to tell her anything," Felix quickly cuts her off.

                                       "You're cruel, Felix. You don't know how to let people down. You lead them on and give them false hope, which is much worse than telling them the truth straight to their face," Iris says, skinning her teeth after.

                                       "And you're a heartless bitch who only knows how to hurt people," Felix retorted.

                                       It was painfully obvious to Gwen that things were far from cordial between the two siblings. They hated each other or rather, Iris deeply hated Felix. Gwen didn't know why since Felix seemed like a fairly nice guy. Maybe a bit slutty but still nicer than the other pricks running around Oxford.

                                       "Ouch, my feelings are hurt," Iris pouts, before she snatches her novel back from Felix's hands.

                                       Felix just rolls his eyes before getting up and leaving the table, heading right towards where Gwen was. And worst of all, his eyes briefly land on Gwen. 

                                       Gwen instantly panics, realizing that she had been caught standing there like a total weirdo. She starts running away from the shelf entirely, determined to not get caught by either Catton sibling. Gwen was close to making her escape before instantly bumping into another stranger. Gwen looks up to see that it was a boy with glasses and neat brown hair. Nothing about him stood out in particular but then again, the same thing could be said about her.

                                     "Sorry, mate," is all Gwen says before she rushes off again, unaware that the glasses wearing boy was still looking at her.

                                     After all, he had caught her staring at Iris while he had been focused on Felix. And while Oliver Quick wasn't too sure about it, he had a feeling he'd be seeing the girl again very soon.

                                     Whether that was a good or a bad thing, that had yet to be determined.

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word count: 2460
notes: welcome to the first chapter! i plan on updating this fic like crazy since i'm so inspired! and since i plan on expanding on iris and gwen's relationship a lot, we won't be getting to saltburn until chapter twenty seven??? oopsie? but at least we will be having iris and gwen officially meet next chapter so!