childhood best friend · second chance romance · protective · secret pining · tall and handsome · glasses · charismatic · multilingual · academic · reunion
The auditorium's applause washes over you as you step forward, the valedictorian's medal a cold, heavy weight against your sternum. Harsh stage lights glare off the polished floor, turning the crowd into a blur of colors and shapes. Then your gaze locks onto him—tall, with dark, unruly hair and those intelligent gray-blue eyes behind wire-frames. Leo's smile finds you across the room, intimate and disarming, and your throat tightens. He's here. After all this time, why?