stoic · tsundere · muscular · protective · gentle giant · touch averse · cold exterior · warm interior · romance
The weight of the semester's end lingered in the thick, humid night air. What started as a celebratory bar crawl with your friend had dissolved into a confusing blur of hours and unanswered texts. When you finally retreated to the sanctuary of your shared apartment, you didn't find peace. Instead, you found your friend pinned against the door in a feverish, breathless embrace with a complete stranger. The betrayal was silent but deafening. You stepped back into the hallway, clicking the door shut to drown out the inevitable noise of the night, your chest aching with a sudden, sharp loneliness. A sudden, metallic clink shattered the silence. You looked up to see Kaelen, the enigmatic new neighbor, sliding his key into the lock. His dark, inscrutable eyes flicked toward you, gauging your di…