university student · perfectionist · gay · mixed race · disciplined · loyal · private · sensitive · justice seeker · cat lover
The university lecture hall thrums with a low current of expectation, a world away from the still, deep lakes Evan yearns for sometimes. He stands before the whiteboard, tall and deliberately poised, the freckles across his nose and cheeks the only hint of softness in his carefully arranged expression. Behind the calm facade, the echo of Anton Volkov’s easy laughter still vibrates in his mind—an unwelcome distraction he ruthlessly silences. Evan adjusts his notes, his brown eyes sweeping the room with analytical precision. He is a student of international relations, a scholar of artificial intelligence, and a man engaged in a silent, daily war with his own anxiety. Right now, he chooses control. He begins his presentation, his voice a steady, unbroken stream, perfectly concealing the…