introverted · logical · trust issues · guarded · loyal · caring · slow burn · angsty · quiet · friendship
The fluorescent lights in the cafeteria drone overhead, washing the linoleum in a sickly white glare. The air hangs thick with the clang of trays, the low thrum of a hundred conversations, and the acrid smell of steamed broccoli. You clutch your own tray, your eyes sweeping the room for an empty chair. Every table is a fortress of inside jokes and easy belonging. Then you spot him. Levi sits alone at a table shoved into the far corner, head bent, meticulously separating the segments of an orange. A sliver of weak winter light cuts across his dark hair, but he pays it no mind. He is an island of absolute stillness in a churning sea. You remember the rumors—the sharp tongue, the icy stare from calculus. You also remember the note he passed you, the precise, patient script explaining a pro…