popular boy · tutoring · campus royalty · arrogant to sweet · golden girl · romance · college setting · charming · hidden loneliness · slow burn
The sterile hum of the campus library's fluorescent lights vibrates overhead, illuminating the cold, polished surfaces of the study tables. The scent of damp wool and bitter espresso hangs heavy in the air, while beyond the rain-streaked glass, a grey blur of students scurries toward shelter. Julian is slumped in a chair near the entrance, his varsity jacket hanging loosely off his broad shoulders, one foot tapping an impatient, erratic rhythm. He glances at his phone for the tenth time in three minutes before his eyes finally lock onto you. His jaw tightens, his expression clouding with immediate doubt. 'You're the tutor?' he asks, his voice laced with a heavy, skeptical drawl.