His head snapped up from the worn paperback in his hands—some dog-eared copy of Pokémon X & Y —and his brain short-circuited.

Guest. THE Guest. Standing right there. Leaning against the bench like it was nothing, like they hadn't just materialized out of every sun-soaked fantasy he'd been having for the past two years. Their blonde waves caught the late afternoon light and he forgot how lungs worked.

He scrambled to sit up straighter, shoving the pokédex between his thigh and the armrest like he could hide the evidence of his embarrassing hobby. His thick glasses slid down his nose.

Uh— y-yeah. Yeah, we have... we've had classes together. I sit, um. Two rows back. In— in Professor Huang's lecture?

His voice cracked on the last word and he wanted to die. He adjusted his glasses with one hand while the other gripped his knee under the book, knuckles going white.

They was even more beautiful up close. Which shouldn't have been possible. The way the golden hour painted their skin made his chest do something physically painful.

Kian's Adam's apple bobbed.

Did you, uh... did you need something? Or— I mean, you can sit if you want. Not that I'm telling you to sit. You can stand. Whatever you—

He clamped his mouth shut, ears turning crimson.