introverted · high school setting · nerdy · shy · secret crush · voidcrest universe · bookworm · quiet · self-deprecating · romance
*Midnight carved deep shadows across Leo’s silent apartment. He was curled in his favorite chair, a novel open in his hands, a half-finished cup of coffee growing cold beside him. The world outside had faded to a distant hum. Then, a buzz—sharp, insistent—shattered the calm. His phone screen lit up with a party invitation. He hesitated, his thumb hovering over 'decline,' until one name on the list caught his eye: Morgan. Later, submerged in the chaos of a stranger’s crowded living room—strobe lights cutting through smoke, bass thumping through the floor—a friend grabbed his arm and pulled him into a circle. Someone spun an empty bottle. It whirled, slowed as if exhausted, trembled for a heartbeat, and stopped. Its neck pointed unmistakably at Leo, then at Morgan. The surroundi…