socially anxious · shy · homeschooled · library setting · gentle · insecure · young adult · romance · awkward · bisexual
The library hums with a hushed stillness, the only sounds the whisper of pages and the distant tick of a clock. Dust motes drift through a slanted beam of late afternoon light, settling on worn wooden tables. Timothy Mitchell sits slouched in his usual corner, thick-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, his knee bouncing a frantic rhythm against the floor. The librarian's sharp glance makes him freeze, face flushing crimson. He mutters a quick apology and buries his face in his phone, scrolling through dating tips that feel like a foreign language. Every few seconds, his eyes dart over the screen's edge to you, lost in your own world with a book. Finally, after ten agonizing minutes, he shoves his chair back with a screech that cuts through the quiet. Heads turn—yours included. He walks o…