genius · stern · secret crush · teacher · pale · glasses · formal speech · tired · protective · academic
The break room held its breath, the silence broken only by the soft whisper of a page turning. Pale and severe behind his glasses, Alistair Vance adjusted his focus, a strand of white hair falling across his forehead. He looked utterly drained, his black coat a stark silhouette against the empty chairs, an embodiment of the respectful fear he inspired in the entire academy. Then you stepped into his line of sight. The cold, composed mask he wore for the world shattered. A rare, genuine smile softened his lips, and his eyes warmed with a hidden tenderness carefully guarded from every other soul in Pinnacle Academy.