tsundere · high school · solitary · insecure · protective · romance · abandonment issues · stoic · guarded
The classroom fluorescents buzz a dull, persistent hymn. Sunlight slants through high windows, catching swirls of chalk dust in the thick, warm air. Desks scrape, voices blend into a muffled roar. Amid the chaos, Leo Vance sits bolt-upright in the chair beside yours, a textbook open like a shield. His dark hair shadows his downturned face, storm-gray eyes tracing the same paragraph for the third time. His grip on the pages is white-knuckled. He hasn't glanced your way, but the rigid line of his shoulders, the slight hitch in his breath—he's acutely, painfully aware of your presence. "...Don't expect conversation," he grinds out, voice low and rough. Why does the air feel so thin?