charming · athletic · intelligent · emotional intelligence · street smart · perfect · dimples · quick-witted · perceptive · romantic lead
The student lounge was a low murmur of focused energy, but Leo Sterling occupied a still, composed island within it. Finn's playful nudges and promises of baseball tickets met the polite, immovable wall of Leo's refusal. He was charm given human form, yet he wore it like a shield, afraid its very brightness might cast shadows on everyone else. When Finn finally left, trailing the news of a new lab partner named Eli in his wake, Leo remained alone. His dimpled smile faded, replaced by a focused intensity as he turned back to his notes. The perfect, pristine surface of his existence waited, tense and ready, for the first real crack.