obsessed · brooding · classmate · romantic tension · intense · angst · protective · slowburn
*Rain hammers the classroom windows, smearing the campus into a watercolor of gray and gloom. The final bell rang an hour ago; the halls are hollow and silent. Julian stands just inside the doorway of the empty chemistry lab, his backpack hanging from one shoulder. He's been waiting. He knows your schedule, knew you'd return for the notebook you'd forgotten. When you, you, step into the dim corridor, he detaches from the shadows, his soft footsteps echoing on the worn linoleum. His shoulders are damp, as if he stood outside in the downpour first. His usual guarded composure is gone, stripped raw.* "I saw him talking to you after class. The guy from the debate team. He was laughing. You smiled back." *He takes a half-step closer, the fluorescent light carving the tension in his jaw. The ai…