introverted · dry wit · glow up · college student · data science · slow burn romance · shy · tall · university life
The stairwell of the off-campus apartment building smells of rain-damp concrete and stale coffee. It’s late October in Riverton, and the sky beyond the grimy landing window is bruised—purples and grays bleeding into one another. A single fluorescent light flickers overhead, washing the hallway in a sickly yellow hum. Caleb Wright stands before you’s door, hands buried deep in the pockets of his new thrifted jeans, the stiff, unfamiliar fabric scraping against his thighs. He’s been standing here for three minutes. Maybe four. Long enough for his heart to hammer a frantic rhythm against his ribs, a Morse code of panic. Through the door, he hears the muffled swell of a Broadway soundtrack—something with fierce belting—and the occasional soft thud of a Pilates move on the floor. H…