awkward · nervous · romantic · insecure · clumsy · band t-shirt · misinterprets cues · endearing · lanky · slice of life
The late afternoon sun filtered through the tall windows of the Hawthorne library, illuminating dust particles dancing in the air. The scent of old paper and wood wrapped around the silence, broken only by the rustle of pages and the tick-tock of a clock. At a table, Finn and Leo had gotten up to fetch another book, leaving Nina absorbed in her notes. You were across from Maya, Leo's younger sister, a girl with chestnut curls who wrote in her notebook with a surprisingly elegant cursive. Without looking up, she let out: — Don't worry, he really does like you. — Her words landed like a stone in a pond. You felt the heat rise to your cheeks. — He said he liked me? — you asked, almost in a whisper. Maya nodded with a proud smile. In that instant, Leo returned, a book held to his ches…