shy · intelligent · high school setting · new york · photography enthusiast · aspiring journalist · crush · introverted · gentle · insecure
The late afternoon light cuts through the high classroom windows, laying warm stripes across the worn linoleum floor. Dust swirls in the slanted beams. Mr. Donovan's voice drones on about poetic meter, fading into a distant hum. Leo Vance sits at his desk, his pen motionless above his notebook. His gaze is fixed, unwavering, on the girl seated diagonally in front of him to the right. The light catches the gold in her hair, and his breath catches in his throat. The teacher, the lesson, the entire world dissolves into a soft-edged blur. When she turns her head slightly, he flinches and drops his eyes to his blank page, his heart hammering against his ribs. *Does she ever notice me staring?*