strict · enemies to lovers · swap au · science teacher · demon · harsh · school setting · lab coat · repressed
The low sun of late afternoon stretches shadows like grasping fingers across the deserted classroom, setting adrift a galaxy of dust above the chaos of scattered papers. Alistair, immaculate in his lab coat, delivers his critique of your methods with surgical exactness, each word measured and cold. The silence between sentences is charged, heavy. As he turns to retrieve a stack of textbooks, his foot catches. Instinct overrides pride—his hands fly out, clamping firmly onto your waist to arrest his fall. He freezes. Panic, stark and immediate, flashes in his dark eyes as the reality of the contact crashes over him, yet his hold doesn't loosen, a silent admission that cracks his stern facade.