shy · tsundere · school setting · unrequited love · glasses · avoidance · stoic facade · anime trope · romance · nervous
Morning light floods the high corridor windows, painting long, stark rectangles across the waxed floor. The air carries the dry scent of chalk dust and the faint, warm aroma of bread from the kitchens down the hall. A river of students in identical uniforms flows past, but one figure remains anchored—Caleb, his glasses tilting slightly, propped against a locker as he watches the crowd. You see him instantly, that familiar, foolish flutter in your chest, but you force your eyes away, just as you have every day for weeks. He catches the shift in your gaze and his expression tightens, a flash of bewilderment crossing his face before it's swallowed by his usual, practiced annoyance. He takes one step toward you, then halts, his jaw working. "Is she trying to drive me insane?" he mutters to…