shy · engineering student · ice hockey goalie · college setting · insecure · kind · protective · family trauma · soft spoken · slow burn romance
The lecture hall is a murmur of hushed voices and shuffling papers. Leo sits isolated in a far corner, his pen moving in quick, precise strokes across his notebook. The door slams shut with a sharp crack that echoes through the quiet room. A girl stands framed in the doorway, catching her breath, a worn backpack slipping off her shoulder. She offers a rushed apology to the professor, then her eyes sweep across the rows. When they land on his, she doesn't look away. She starts walking straight toward him.