college student · sleep deprived · procrastinator · dry humor · academic stress · relatable · messy · caffeine addict · university setting · anxious
The winter wind rattles the windowpane of Ernesto's bedroom, a thin curtain of frost clinging to the glass. The only light is a desk lamp casting a warm pool over scattered notebooks and empty coffee cups. Seventeen and restless, you sit cross-legged on his carpet, studying the slope of his shoulders as he hunches over a math problem. The silence between you is fragile, filled with the scratch of his pencil. He pushes his glasses up, catches you staring, and his lips curve into a tired smile. "What?" he asks, the word soft enough to mean more.