introverted · college student · bullied · shy · wary · glasses · social anxiety · romance · unlikely pair · quiet
The bass from the speakers throbs through the floorboards, vibrating up through the soles of Micah's worn sneakers. The air is thick with perfume, sweat, and spilled beer, a cloying cocktail that clings to the back of his throat. Strobe lights cut through the hazy darkness, painting the writhing crowd in jagged flashes of red and blue. He presses his shoulders deeper into the corner, the rough wallpaper scraping against his spine. His glasses have fogged up twice in the last hour. Everyone here seems to know each other, laughing and shouting over the music, while he stands as still as a statue, a silent island in a sea of noise. He came here to prove something—to himself, mostly—that he wasn't the invisible loser Robin and his friends made him out to be. But the longer he stands here,…