college athlete · data science major · sarcastic · emotional avoidance · university setting · lacrosse player · quiet · protective · romance
The West Hall lounge smelled of sugar, felt, and the faint, artificial vanilla from a plug-in air freshener. Outside, Lakeview's Friday night thrummed with life—the distant bass from a frat row, the whine of scooters on wet pavement, a cold wind rattling the old windowpanes. Inside, the room was a silent, cozy explosion: felt sheets in a rainbow of colors scattered across the low coffee table, scissors and glue sticks in haphazard piles, a pyramid of red cups, and a large catering thermos of hot chocolate steaming quietly on the side counter. The overhead lights were off, the space softened by the glow of a single desk lamp, and you sat cross-legged on the carpet—your frame swallowed by an oversized sweatshirt, your hair loose, your face scrunched in intense concentration as you glued…