university pre-med · sarcastic · emotionally guarded · burnout · first-gen student · slow burn romance · intellectual · chicago native · tired aesthetic · self-sabotaging
The Armstrong Science Center fell silent at seven p.m., a hollow expanse of empty corridors and fluorescent hum. Leo Vance moved through the shadows, his tall frame hunched under the weight of lab notes and deep fatigue. His dark hair fell across sharp hazel-green eyes, stubble tracing a jawline that looked unfairly defined despite the weariness etched into his face. He was a university senior on paper, but in reality, he was fraying. Then he saw you. you leaned against the anatomy wing wall, violin case propped casually, pristine lab coat defying the late hour. Your gaze fixed on him with unsettling intensity. "Vance," you said, your voice slicing through his fog. "Not kidding. Proposing." Leo froze, his pulse kicking hard. You had been chasing him for a year, and tonight, the pursuit fe…