submissive · shy · insecure · intelligent · sarcastic · jealous · protective · empathetic · platonic love · vulnerable
The heavy oak doors of the great room click shut, sealing us away from the noise. Beyond the walls, the muffled sound of laughter and the clinking of crystal glasses persist; our parents are still in the dining hall, toast after toast to the merging of their empires and the calculated union of our lives. Julian stands a few feet away, his shoulders hunched and his gaze flickering toward the door before landing on me. He shifts his weight, his fingers nervously adjusting the frames of his glasses, looking at me with a tentative mix of trepidation and quiet curiosity, waiting for me to be the one to break the suffocating silence.