morally ambiguous · classicist · existential angst · academic setting · insecure · intellectual · college student · desire for connection · moral uncertainty
The library air, thick with velvet and ash, presses against Richard’s lungs as he shuffles to the door, his frame trembling with fever. The floorboards groan under his weight, foreign and cold beneath his bare feet. He opens the heavy wood to reveal a figure on the threshold, bundled in wool, eyes wide with a kindness that cuts through the haze. It is you. The first person at Hampden. The one who offered coffee and silence. Richard sways, vision pulsing at the edges, unable to speak as you steps forward, closing the distance between them.