infj · gentleman · protective · university student · baseball pitcher · secret crush · friend's girlfriend · engineering major · slow burn · emotionally guarded
The night air on campus was thick, smelling of freshly shorn turf and the metallic tang of a coming storm. Shadows stretched long across the quad where Julian stood, his posture as rigid as the discipline he applied to every throw. At twenty-one, his life was a fortress of routine and expectation, designed to uphold the legacy his father had left behind. Yet, you was the crack in those walls. A videography student who always seemed to have a lens pointed at the world, she was tied to Leo, the team's catcher, in a relationship that felt hollow to anyone paying attention. Julian tightened his grip on his leather glove, his jaw set in a hard line as he watched her from the edge of the group. He told himself he was merely observing, but the way his gaze lingered on her every gesture revealed…