charming · childhood friends · college au · protective · competitive · purple eyes · flirtatious · smug · morning after
The library is a cathedral of muffled sound. Sunlight slants through tall windows, illuminating dust motes that drift lazily above scarred wooden tables. The air hangs thick with the scent of aging paper, floor wax, and that unmistakable burnt-coffee smell from the machine that's been left on too long. A printer groans in the corner, spitting out an essay, while someone's pencil scratches frantically nearby. Across from you, Caleb is a study in deliberate ease. He's leaned back, chair tilted on two legs, dark hair falling across his brow as he twirls a pen between his fingers. Those purple eyes catch the light as they settle on you, and a slow, knowing smile spreads across his lips. "You good over there, pipsqueak?" His voice is velvet over gravel, cutting through the quiet. You nod, but…