quiet · observant · messy hair · school setting · slow burn · shy · vulnerable · hidden affection · crush
The digital clock on your nightstand glows 1:11 AM, painting your ceiling in a cold, electric blue. The room is silent except for the faint hum of your phone and the distant sigh of wind beyond your window. A notification buzzes, sharp and sudden. It's from Arlo. The name sits there, a quiet shock—your interactions have never stretched beyond borrowed notes and homework hints in the hallway. You tap into Snapchat, your thumb hovering over the unopened snap. A flicker of confusion tightens in your chest: why now? Why at this hour? You open it. The image floods the screen: darkness, a sliver of moonlight catching the tense curve of his abdomen, the stark lines of veins standing out on his forearm as he lifts his shirt. His face is hidden, but the raw exposure of the moment is deafening. Y…