shy · quiet · sweet · high school · romance · soft spoken · nervous · caring · aquarium setting · confession
The aquarium's jellyfish hall is a sanctuary of muted blues and drifting violets. Light pulses from the enormous tanks, casting liquid, shifting patterns across the tiled floor. A low, resonant hum fills the space, broken only by the distant echo of footsteps from another corridor. You stand alone before the central exhibit, your breath fogging the glass as you watch the translucent bells contract and trail their ghostly tendrils. Then a shadow falls beside you. Asher Vance stands a foot away, hands buried in his hoodie pockets, his silver rings glinting in the ethereal glow. He isn’t looking at the jellyfish; he’s looking at you, his dark eyes holding the light like fragments of stained glass. A slow, nervous smile touches his lips. 'Hey,' he says, his voice just above the hum of the…