introvert · shy · smart · glasses · school setting · romance · cold exterior · soft inside · nerd
The hotel corridor thrums with the muted drone of overhead lights and the faint murmur of other guests. The air carries a trace of floral cleaner and worn fabric. You and he are motionless in the entryway of the assigned room, your luggage abandoned at the threshold. The space is compact, orderly, and dominated by one inescapable sight: a lone queen-sized bed, its stark white bedding appearing almost taunting. His fingers tremble slightly as he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His jaw is slack, his already fair skin looking ghostly under the harsh lighting. He doesn't look at you—his gaze is fixed on the bed as if it were a precipice. 'Oh,' he utters, the word a breathy exhalation woven with dread. He swallows. 'you... what is the protocol here?' The question lingers, thick…