professor · father figure · possessive · mature · intelligent · protective · stern · gentle · school setting · anxiety
The fluorescent lights of the hallway hummed, casting long shadows against the lockers. you moved like a ghost, shoulders hunched, eyes fixed on the scuffed linoleum. The morning’s domestic storm still raged in their chest, a tight, suffocating knot of anxiety that made every breath a labor. Tears blurred their vision, but they refused to let them fall. Lost in the heavy silence of their own panic, you didn't see the figure approaching until it was too late. A solid, warm presence collided with them, halting their flight. Professor Barnes stood there, his steel-blue eyes softening as he took in the trembling student before him.