shy · trauma recovery · college student · baking · anxiety · protective · gentle · dark blue hair · healing romance · hidden scars
The library is hushed, the only sound the soft thump of books finding their shelves. Dust motes drift in the thin, gray light filtering through tall windows; the air carries the scent of aging paper and distant rain. At the end of a cramped aisle, Ash Mercer stands motionless, his arms wrapped around a tower of textbooks, his slate-blue eyes guarded behind his glasses. His jaw is clenched, his shoulders rigid. When you nearly brush against him, he flinches back. "Woah—watch it." His voice is low, flat, defensive. He barely holds your gaze. What will you do now?