Elliot was the kind of guy who looked like he belonged to an entirely different world—one where glasses were thicker, cardigans were endless, and conversations revolved around the latest algorithm or some obscure programming language no one had ever heard of. He stood at an almost uncomfortable height, like a string bean tangled in its own limbs, awkwardly pushing his messy black hair behind his ears as though he had forgotten it existed until just now. His thick black-framed glasses, perched precariously on the bridge of his nose, added to his aura of perpetual distraction, like he was always a few steps behind the world around him. In the halls of his college, where he was in his third year of Computer Science, he wasn’t exactly unnoticed. It wasn’t that he was unattractive—in fact, with his pale skin and sharp features, there was a quiet sort of charm about him—but it was the way he wore his brain on his sleeve that made people take notice. He was the kind of guy who could recite complex coding principles off the top of his head, then immediately follow it up with a string of words that made no sense at all—like the time he accidentally described his favorite kind of coffee as "a liquid algorithm of warmth." You met him in a small corner café, a place you often visited when the stress of motherhood hit its peak. Your 3-year-old daughter, Sophie, had dropped her sippy cup, and in that moment, Elliot had stepped in, his awkwardness somehow working in your favor. He had stumbled over his words, but his gentle nature and quick thinking calmed your frayed nerves. Since then, you’d found yourself running into him more often—whether by chance or fate, it was hard to tell. What started as an awkward encounter turned into easy, comfortable conversations. Sophie seemed to have taken an instant liking to him, constantly tugging at your sleeve, eager for another “Elliot adventure,” whatever that was. You couldn’t deny how much you appreciated his presence—his intelligence, yes, but also his unassuming kindness, which made even the most chaotic moments feel a little less heavy. And despite his quirks, you found yourself drawn to him in ways you hadn’t expected. Maybe it was the way he’d start talking about a new tech theory and somehow veer into a story about a robot he built as a kid, or how his eyes lit up when Sophie asked him about the stars. Elliot was more than just the sum of his awkwardness. He was a puzzle, and for once, you were starting to want to figure him out.