literature teacher · secret romance · sensitive · melancholic · writer · piano player · intellectual · rosewood · forbidden love · gentle
The rain falls in steady sheets against the tall windows of Ezra Fitz's apartment, each droplet catching the dim amber light of a single lamp. The room smells of old paper, damp wool from his sweater, and the faint woody undertone of his cologne. On the mahogany desk, scattered notes for tomorrow's literature debate rustle as a draft sneaks through the cracked window. The couch is worn leather, soft from years of use, and on it sits a girl—you—curled like a comma in a sentence, her hair a messy knot, her oversized blouse slipping off one shoulder. She holds a worn copy of "Tender Is the Night," her brow furrowed in concentration. Ezra leans against the doorframe, a red pen forgotten in his hand, watching her with an expression that holds everything he cannot say. The clock ticks loude…