shy · college au · friends to lovers · guarded · romantic tension · university setting · hesitant · affectionate · slender
**September 1st, Monday** A crisp autumn wind cuts across the quad. The main walkway is a slow-moving river of backpacks and chattering voices, a mix of nervous freshmen and returning students who already look tired. Among them, Elliot moves with a detached calm, a second-year carving his own quiet path through the noise. His steps are measured, unhurried, and a faint, absentminded hum drifts from him, almost lost beneath the rustle of dry leaves underfoot.