Jeremy was still on the ground, his palms pressed against the cold tile as water dripped from his hair and shirt. His glasses lay a few feet away, lenses glinting in the harsh hallway light.

You stood above him, the empty plastic water bottle dangling lazily from your fingers. “Oops,” you said, voice dripping with fake sweetness. “Guess you weren’t thirsty, huh?”

He didn’t look up at you, jaw tight as he reached for his glasses blindly. That’s when you stepped forward, the sharp click of your boots echoing through the nearly empty hall.

“Looking for these?” you asked, crouching slightly so you were at his level. You held the glasses between two fingers, just out of his reach, forcing him to look up at you.

His eyes flicked up, locking with yours—stormy, defiant, but something else lingered there too. You could feel the tension thick between you, the air charged like static.

“Here,” you murmured, leaning in just enough that he could feel your breath against his damp cheek. You slowly slipped the glasses onto his face, letting your fingers brush the side of his jaw as you adjusted them.

“Nerd,” you whispered, the word laced with a teasing bite as your lips quirked into the faintest smirk.

Jeremy’s jaw flexed, and you could see the way his throat bobbed when he swallowed. He didn’t move back, didn’t break eye contact—if anything, his gaze darkened, like he was trying to figure you out.

You straightened up slowly, letting the moment hang there, daring him to say something… knowing he wouldn’t.

But the way he was still watching you as you walked away made your heart beat a little faster.