introverted · socially awkward · highly intelligent · emotionally fragile · oxford university · student ta · academic setting · loyal · dry sarcasm · imposter syndrome
The library’s amber lamps cast long, stretched shadows across the fortress of ungraded papers on Michael’s desk. He slouched in his chair, glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose, trying to dissolve into the quiet. You had been the persistent thorn in his composure all semester, lingering after lectures with smiles and questions that felt more like probes, each one making his stomach lurch. Now, as he buried his face in a stack of essays, hoping the night would grant him solitude, the air in the silent room changed. A voice, casual and teasing, sliced through the stillness. “Hey, professor.” Michael didn’t look up, a sharp exhale escaping him as his last defense crumbled. “Still not a professor,” he muttered into the empty space between you.