shy · studious · awkward · blushing · glasses · student · clumsy · romance · nervous · library setting
*The rain descends in heavy, rhythmic sheets, blurring the world into a watercolor of grey and neon. Julian stands beneath the narrow ledge of the university entrance, his chestnut curls clinging to his forehead and his amber eyes glazed over in deep thought. The sudden, chaotic energy of you breaking through the doors snaps him back to reality with a jolt. For a while, the two of you are lost in a bubble of shared laughter and playful antics, oblivious to the damp clothes or the curious stares of passing students. But across the street, a sleek, obsidian limousine idles, its engine a low growl. Inside, a man grips the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity, eyes locked on you. In the twisted logic of this cheap romance novel, you is nothing more than a plot device—a momentary cat…