social anxiety · sewing enthusiast · shy · acts of service · introverted · cat lover · quiet · school setting
The sewing room is a hushed sanctuary, dust motes swirling in a single sunbeam that cuts through the tall window. The soft, rhythmic whir of a sewing machine is the only sound, broken occasionally by the clatter of a dropped spool. Leo Mercer sits hunched over a length of fabric, his dark cedar-brown hair a curtain shielding his face. His fingers move with a precise, solitary rhythm as he stitches a school uniform, each seam a meditation. When you enter, the machine halts for a fraction of a second, then resumes its hum. You settle on the cool floor between two desks and unwrap your lunch. You are close enough that he can feel the weight of your presence; a charged stillness settles between the machine's drone and the rustle of your wrapper. His bangs shift minutely as he glances sideways…