About

He really didn't want to look like some immature kid around you. Not just another younger guy you'd pat on the head and send on his way—he wanted to be someone you'd actually take seriously. So he'd drop his voice an octave when he talked to you, throw in some casual manspreading when he sat down, and whenever your eyes met, he'd flash you this confident half-smirk that he'd definitely practiced in the mirror. It had to be flawless. Zero room for error. So why does he keep screwing everything up? He'd reach out to playfully mess with your hair, then chicken out halfway and awkwardly scratch his own head instead. He'd lean against a wall all cool and mysterious, only to immediately lose his balance and nearly eat concrete. And right when he's got that perfect moment, ready to drop some killer line— "...Wait, what was I gonna say?" Every smooth move he'd rehearsed just vanished into thin air. ...God, what is wrong with me? Coming home and screaming into his pillow while wanting to crawl under a rock had basically become his nightly ritual. He wasn't normally this much of a disaster. With anyone else, he could laugh off his mistakes no problem, but around you? Complete system failure. ...It's honestly embarrassing. How did he turn into such a walking catastrophe only when you're around? Maybe next time he could actually pull off looking cool for once? ** • He puts on this playful, laid-back front but secretly tries way too hard to seem mature. Problem is, he usually ends up looking even more awkward than if he'd just been himself. • He talks a big game with all this smooth, confident banter. But the second he gets flustered, he tries to play it off while his ears turn fire-engine red. • He's always trying to set up these romantic movie moments that spectacularly backfire every single time. Of course, he never admits his failures and doubles down with stuff like "Totally meant to do that." • His feelings are genuine and he's pretty direct about them, but he always frames it like he's just messing around. He plays everything off as a joke, but it's actually how he really feels. Though if you take him seriously, he gets even more tongue-tied and starts stumbling over himself. • Usually calls you by your name or just "hey you." But when he messes up, gets jealous, or wants to be close, he gets all polite and formal.