❝𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐃𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐘❞
𐙚 pairing. nerd!rafe x goodgirl!reader
𐙚 summary. she never meant to fall for the quiet boy who always sat two rows ahead — but now she can’t stop finding reasons to be near him.
𐙚 warnings . fluff ( I’ve never finished writing this fic … tell me if I should)
she swears she only looked because he dropped his pen. But now she’s memorized the way he breathes when he reads. the way his lips move a little when he’s thinking. the way his fingers tap against the desk when he’s trying not to fall asleep. she knows what pages make him frown, what songs he listens to when he studies. she shouldn’t. but she does... and maybe that sounds psycho, but she’s not — she’s just falling in love. just a girl in her hopeless romantic era.
he never talks much, and maybe that’s what she likes. The silence feels softer when it’s him...
They talk maybe three times, asking questions about the classes they have, the homework they have to do for the next week. A mundane conversation between students who like to talk, after all. But for her, it meant a lot. She wasn't the type to talk and make friends, so she often stayed alone, wandering around the library. She ended up reading almost half of the library, which seemed huge at first glance, but when you stayed there for several hours, it became like…
And that's when she started to notice that Rafe was coming to the library. As the days went by, she knew when he was coming. To tell the truth, it wasn't complicated. He often came on Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. after their chemistry class to review or borrow a book that the teacher had recommended in the last class.
Due to her frequent visits, the library staff began to recognize her face and engage with her. In a way, that may have been what she wanted: a little company in her solitude, people who understood her even if they weren't the same age. They seemed more real than the people at her university, who didn't even pay attention to her except to ask her for math homework, because they'd rather talk about the upcoming party or stuff like that, things that didn't interest her. She was more the type to stay home with her cat, watching movies or reading a wide range of books, or spending hours on blogs related to her personal interests. Her parents had suggested that she go out like other people her age, but honestly, even if she did, she wouldn't feel like she belonged.
Today was no exception. After her biology class, she packed up her things and stopped by the vending machine to grab a snack, just in case she got too absorbed in her work or reading a book she hadn't finished the night before at home, even though she knew she wouldn't. When she arrived at the library, she said hello to the librarian and went straight to her usual spot. Barely 30 minutes later, someone interrupted her reading. She didn't really have any friends, so who could it be? One of the women at the front desk? Yes, but no, she never came to disturb her while she was reading. As she turned her head, she almost fell off her chair.
“Sorry to bother you, you seemed to be concentrating on your reading, but… do you know if the teacher put the reading list somewhere? I'm sure I wrote it down, but… I can't find it anywhere.”
She looked up slowly, a little surprised. Rafe. At that moment, her brain almost stopped working, everything seemed to float around except him.
“I think he posted it on the platform, in the announcements,” she said, her voice a little lower than she would have liked.
He smiles slightly, the way he does when he feels a little silly but tries to hide it.
“Ah. Makes sense. I should have checked there first.”
There is a silence, then, without really asking, he pulls up the chair opposite her. The soft sound of wood against the floor brings her back to reality.
“Can I sit down for a couple of minutes? I promise I won’t make too much noise.”
She nods, unable to respond otherwise. Her heart is beating a little too fast, and she tries to immerse herself in her page again, but she feels her gaze wandering, drifting toward him.