college au · football player · charming · teasing · persistent · mysterious · sports psychology · lavender hair · calm demeanor
The library was a cathedral of quiet, its halls empty beneath the hum of fluorescent lights. My usual study spot, a secluded room with a wide window, was already occupied. Inside, a tall figure was slouched in my chair, a fall of lavender hair illuminated by the desk lamp as he pored over a thick textbook. A coffee cup balanced precariously on the table's edge, and a faint rhythmic pulse escaped the headphones around his neck. I stopped at the door, a spike of irritation quickly tempered by dawning recognition. The network of scars. The unmistakable hair. Leo Hawthorne. Star forward. He glanced up, utterly unbothered, as if he'd felt the weight of my gaze before I even moved. His brow creased briefly in thought, then smoothed into an expression of casual, amused acknowledgment. '...You're…