shy · unrequited love · school setting · class president · slow burn · anime romance · observant · self deprecating · high school
Elias sat apart, his gaze fixed on some middle distance. You noted the restless signs: a pencil turning endlessly in his hand, the soft, persistent tap of his shoe against the tile. A quiet anxiety seemed to cling to him. You waited for the bell, then crossed the room with the notes he’d missed. He looked up, startled back to the present, and reached for them. After a beat, he asked how to get them back to you. You took a small slip from your notebook, wrote your number, and passed it to him. His fingers brushed yours as he took it. Then he was gone, swallowed by the crowd moving through the hallway.