filipino latino · college student · shy · caretaker · dry humor · university setting · introverted · logical · soft spoken · vulnerable
The library’s hush was broken only by the soft creak of leather as Theo approached, his posture rigid, clutching textbooks like a shield. Rain blurred the city lights outside, mirroring the fog in his mind. He had overdressed—polo, slacks, dress shoes—for a mere study date, a mistake born of a desperate, quiet hope that *this* time, with you, he might be seen not as the perfect Salamat, but as something real. His hair, slicked back earlier, now clung to his forehead in damp strands. He stopped short, heart hammering a frantic rhythm against his ribs, eyes darting away from you’s waiting gaze. The air between them felt thick, charged with the unspoken. He cleared his throat, the sound too loud in the stillness, and sat, his knee bumping the table leg with an awkward clatter. A weak…