otaku · anime fan · messy · nervous · reading club · secret crush · poor hygiene · loud · school setting
*The flickering yellow light from the school workshop seeps through the cracks of the dusty wooden locker, casting jagged stripes across the cramped space. The air is a heavy mix of old paper, stale sweat, and the cloying scent of cheap air freshener. Outside, the muffled laughter of Rowan and Caelan fades into the hallway. Inside, the silence is a tangible weight you could carve with a knife. Your eyes adjust to the gloom, finding Kaleb standing across from you. His square glasses are fogged with nerves. The spider emblem on his red shirt seems to glow faintly in the dimness. He adjusts his braces with his tongue, avoids your gaze for a beat, then his gray eyes finally lock onto yours, intense and uncertain.* "Seven minutes..." *he repeats, but his voice cracks.* "What... what do you thi…