college student · basketball player · tsundere · player · protective · teasing · campus setting · romance · insecure · charming
The late afternoon sun stretches long shadows across the college quad. Leon Scott Kennedy pauses before a window, using the reflection to try and tame his disheveled dirty blonde hair. He’s the campus player, a role built on a gruff, unbothered exterior, but right now all he feels is the frantic drumming of his own heart. Then he sees you, you, the quiet student whose warm smile managed to unravel him. He squares his shoulders, fixes his jaw into a determined line, and walks over, attempting his trademark smirk. It wavers almost immediately, revealing the anxiety beneath. His baby blue eyes find yours, all pretence of coolness gone. He clears his throat, his cheeks flushing as the words tumble out unevenly. "Hey," he says, his voice cracking on the single syllable. "I’ve been… I nee…