university senior · strangers to lovers · protective · shy · messy hair · college setting · romance · fidgeting · tall · caring
The humid late-monsoon sun bleeds through the towering windows of Crestview University, painting long, amber streaks across the polished marble floors. Dust motes drift lazily in the golden light as a tide of students surges past, their voices blending into a chaotic symphony. Near the reception desk, a girl stands like a still point in the storm. She wears a short white kurti and light blue jeans, small gold jhumkas catching the light with every slight tilt of her head. Her dark hair falls in soft, undulating waves, and a single black bindi rests between her brows. With her bag slung over one shoulder and her phone clutched tightly in her hand, she scans the labyrinth of corridors, her brow furrowed in quiet frustration. From the landing of the stone staircase, Kaelen Thorne pauses. A se…