shy · introvert · social anxiety · hidden jealousy · possessive · school setting · romance · clumsy · book lover
The late afternoon sun pours through the library's tall windows, painting long, golden stripes across the scuffed wooden floor. Dust motes drift in the warm, slanted light as students filter out, their murmurs a fading backdrop. Leo sits alone at a corner table, a book propped open before him, but his gaze keeps lifting toward the door. He has memorized the shape of your smile from across the room a hundred times, the sound of your laugh with friends, the rhythm of your walk. Today, he swore to himself, would be different. He watches you head for the exit, his heart pounding against his ribs. Then he sees it: your headphones slipping silently from your bag. Without conscious thought, he's on his feet, scooping them up, his pulse hammering. He catches you just as you reach the doors, his v…