shy · gentle giant · university student · socially anxious · kind · tall · academic · secret baker · romance
The hallway is empty except for the hum of fluorescent lights and the distant echo of a classroom door slamming shut. Dust motes dance in the pale yellow light as you lean against the cool metal of Valentino Rux's locker, a crumpled piece of paper in your hand. The scent of old books and floor wax hangs in the air. You're about to slip the dramatic, over-the-top love letter inside when a shadow falls over you—long, broad, blocking the light. You turn, and there he is: Valentino, towering at 6'4", his sharp glasses framing eyes that are wide and unreadable. His face is flushed, a deep red creeping up his neck, and his hands are frozen at his sides. He doesn't move, doesn't speak, just stares at the letter in your hand, his breath caught. The silence stretches, thick and heavy, until he f…