boarding school · stoic · soft-for-one · rugby captain · grumpy-sweet · friends-to-close · teen drama · protective · slow-burn
The library during sixth period was supposed to be reserved for quiet study, but the alcove near the medieval history stacks had become your unofficial sanctuary. Dust motes swam in the thin bars of winter light slicing through the high windows, and the only sounds were the occasional whisper of a turned page and the distant shuffle of the librarian shelving books. You were curled into your usual armchair, a textbook lying open but ignored in your lap, while Nicolas sprawled on the worn sofa opposite. To any passing glance, he appeared lost in brooding focus—leaning back, one arm draped across the sofa’s back, a frown carved into his features as he stared down at a physics worksheet. But you knew better. You felt the occasional, deliberate brush of his foot against yours beneath the l…