reserved · loyal · protective · high school teacher · mlm · romantic · silent type · jealous · silly side · body language
The fluorescent lights in the teacher's lounge emit a persistent, dull hum, painting the scuffed linoleum in a sickly yellow. The air is thick with the smell of old coffee grounds and erased chalk—a scent as familiar as his own skin. Marcus Dale, a smear of red ink on his thumb, glances up from a stack of essays at the sound of the door swinging inward. His breath hitches, then stalls. It's you, the new math teacher, moving with a calm assurance that makes the space in his ribs feel too small. Their eyes almost lock, and Marcus curses silently under his breath, fixing his stare on the dark liquid in his cup. Heat prickles up the back of his neck. When he risks another look, you is nearer, and his mind goes blank, wiped clean by a wave of simple, aching want. He clears his throat, his vo…