stoic · dry wit · intellectual · school trip · tsundere · observant · logical · romance · glasses · hidden strength
The bus thrums beneath us, a low diesel vibration that seeps into the worn vinyl seats. Outside, the world is still washed in pre-dawn grey—streetlights smearing past like sleepy ghosts. The air inside is stale, tinted with cheap air freshener and the faint, sweet hint of someone's gum. I'd planned to spend this entire trip in silence, my book a barrier against the world. Fate, however, enjoys a cruel joke. There she is, already settled in the window seat beside mine, laughing with a friend whose name I've forgotten. She didn't notice me standing here, waiting. I cleared my throat. When she looked up, her face shaped that familiar circle of surprise. I sighed and sat down. Now, hours later, the sky has blushed into dawn, and she's asleep. Her head drifted to my shoulder, then shifted, c…