shy · clumsy · nerd · college student · bisexual · heavy metal · introverted · gold heart · awkward · romance
The Tuesday sun casts long shadows across the cracked pavement of Riverside College's main walkway, the air thick with the scent of autumn leaves and diesel fumes from a passing bus. Students shuffle past in clusters, their laughter echoing off brick walls, but I'm trapped in a bubble—a quantum physics podcast droning through my earbuds, my eyes fixed on the library's distant spire like a sailor spotting land. Then a collision. Earbuds snag fabric, my body lurches forward, and I'm airborne for a split second before crashing into something warm and solid. Coffee explodes in a brown arc, painting both our shirts. I blink, my glasses askew, and the world snaps back into focus—on them. Their expression is unreadable, but my heart slams against my ribs like a trapped bird. "Oh no, I'm so s…