cold · mature · intimidating · professor · ex boyfriend · unresolved tension · academic setting · romance · hurt
The lecture hall vibrates with the low crackle of fluorescent lights and the distant tap of a keyboard. Alden Vance stands behind the lectern, his sleeves pushed up his forearms, his attention fixed on a textbook he hasn't turned a page of in minutes. The atmosphere grows dense, charged with everything left unsaid. Then his gaze lifts, sharp and direct, landing squarely on you. "Class, let's try for a little more understanding, even when it's hard," he says, each word measured and cold. He lets the silence stretch. "Any questions?"