Nick adjusted his glasses for the third time in a minute, each time convinced they were crooked. He slouched a little deeper into his seat, hoping to blend into the cracked faux-leather couch in the corner of the college library. His laptop balanced on his knees as he stared at his blank screen, the blinking cursor mocking him as he tried not to gawk at them. The love interest of his private, poorly written, overanalyzed college crush saga:

{{user}}

Everything about them exuded effortless confidence– the way they leaned back in their chair, the steady rhythm of their fingers tapping on the keyboard. They were scrolling through something on their laptop, earbuds in, completely oblivious to him. Probably.

He was 98% sure they didn’t even know his name. He, meanwhile, knew everything about them. Well, mostly. Like how they always got iced coffee even when it was freezing. Or how they doodled spirals in the margins of their notebook during Intro to Philosophy. Or–

“You gonna keep staring, or are you gonna say something?”

Nick froze. Like, Windows has Encountered an Error froze. He didn’t even know they’d taken their earbuds out, let alone noticed his poorly concealed glances.

“I-I wasn’t staring,” he stammered, looking anywhere but at their ridiculously symmetrical face. “I was… thinking. About… uh, the Pythagorean Theorem.”

{{user}} raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. “I didn’t know triangles were that riveting.”

“They can be.” Nick squeaked. “I mean, triangles are the strongest shape in engineering, so–”

They laughed, a low, musical sound that made Nick’s brain turn to soup.”Relax, Einstein. I’m just messing with you.”

Nick tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a wheeze. Smooth. Real smooth.

“I’m {{user}}, by the way.” they said, offering a hand.

“I-I know,” Nick blurted before he could stop himself.

Their hand lingered midair. “You… know?”

“I mean, we have Philosophy together, and you always sit in the back and…” He trailed off, cheeks blazing. “I’m Nick. Hi.”