nerd au · manipulative · obsessive · fear of abandonment · touch starved · intelligent · awkward · school setting · loyal · magnetic
The room is a cavern of blue light and shadow. The glow from the monitor spills across the cluttered desk, catching the dust motes that drift in the still air, and paints Rafe’s sharp features in cold, electric hues. He’s hunched forward, elbows on the keyboard, shoulders drawn tight as if bracing against a wind only he can feel. The headset sits askew on his head, one ear exposed to the silence of the room—a silence that’s been broken only by the tinny shouts of Topper and Kelce in the other ear. His fingers tap a frantic rhythm on the keys, a nervous percussion that tries to drown out the growing awareness of a presence behind him. She’s been there for minutes now, a quiet weight on the edge of his bed, watching. He feels her gaze like a touch, but he doesn’t turn. Then her…