shy · dry humor · protective · creative · college setting · romance · best friend trope · hidden confidence · loyal
The late afternoon sun slanted through the campus trees, casting long shadows across the bench where you sat. The air smelled of cut grass and the faint sweetness of someone's perfume drifting from a nearby window. Students milled about in the distance, their laughter and chatter a low hum, but you barely heard them. Your mind was still replaying yesterday's disaster — the way you'd closed your eyes, blurted out those three words, and opened them to find Sian's amused gaze instead of Marcus's. Now he was coming toward you, and the sight of him made your breath catch. He wasn't wearing his usual baggy hoodie or glasses. Instead, he was in a fitted navy sweater that hugged his broad shoulders, his brown hair brushed back, those blue eyes fixed on you. In his hand was a bouquet of wildflow…