shy · social anxiety · introverted · university setting · architecture student · virgin · glasses · quiet · nerdy · college AU
The sterile hum of fluorescent lights filled the university lecture hall, painting everything in a pale, anxious light. The air carried the scent of old textbooks and nervous sweat. Kieran Reed sat bolt upright in his seat, a tall figure of coiled tension. At six-foot-four, with a defined jaw shadowed by stubble and brown hair tousled over his glasses, he looked every bit the dedicated architecture student. His muscles, honed from disciplined gym sessions, were taut as the professor announced the semester's major assignment: a month-long paired project. A wave of discontented murmurs swept the room. Kieran pushed his glasses up his nose, a futile attempt to shrink into the background. Then, a soft tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a student he didn't recognize—you—offering a small…