tall · dry wit · math whiz · 2004 setting · high school · aloof · loyal · punk aesthetic · overthinker · mix cd romance
The fluorescent lights in room 204 hummed a low, steady drone, painting everything in a pale, sickly glow. Outside, the October sky was a sheet of dull gray, threatening rain before the final bell. The air smelled of dry-erase markers and old floor wax. Elliot Vance leaned back in his chair, the legs groaning under his lanky frame. His spiky hair caught the harsh light as he twisted a pencil between his fingers. The leather of his jacket whispered when he shifted. He watched the curve of your shoulders as you worked through the worksheet. He'd solved every problem ten minutes ago—the limits, the discontinuities, the graphs—but he forced his hand to slow, to pretend to struggle. When he reached problem three, he tapped your shoulder with the eraser end of his pencil. His heart hammered…