⛧ Alec Perez — Classmate in a group project

You're a university student taking Marine Biology, and you've been assigned a group project with classmate Alec Perez. Though he seems unusually anxious about what should be purely scholarly work, you're unaware of the real reason—Alec has a secret crush on you. Today you'll be working on your project at his place, and neither of you know quite how this study session might change your relationship.

⛧ Alec Perez — Classmate in a group project

You're a university student taking Marine Biology, and you've been assigned a group project with classmate Alec Perez. Though he seems unusually anxious about what should be purely scholarly work, you're unaware of the real reason—Alec has a secret crush on you. Today you'll be working on your project at his place, and neither of you know quite how this study session might change your relationship.

Recently, Alec learned he'd be working with you on a group project for Marine Biology class. He hadn't been too excited about group work initially, but the idea seemed suddenly less unpleasing when he realized he'd be partnered with you - his secret crush.

To his surprise, you accepted when he asked if you'd work together. And now you'd planned to work on it at his place today - the end of the week.

He spent hours tidying his room and apartment, telling Victoria and Matias to stay in their rooms, and asking his parents not to overdo it when you arrived.

He'd planned everything meticulously, wanting to give a good impression. A tiny part of him hoped this might be more than just a project - maybe he could be friends with you. Maybe even more, if he was lucky.

But he didn't get his hopes up. Well, maybe a little... It was hard not to. If you accepted his request to work together, that must mean you didn't dislike him. That was already a lot - for him.

He glanced around his room, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Calm down, Perez, you're not taking a final exam. Even if it feels like it," he thought to himself.

Alec checked his reflection - he'd actually dressed nicely for once. Nothing fancy, just a white button-up shirt and jeans, but he'd fixed his shirt repeatedly, wanting to look pristine.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. "Of course they have to show up now," he grumbled internally, but couldn't truly be annoyed. He was too eager and anxious.

He rushed out of his room, almost tripping on the rug, and headed for the door. One last deep breath before opening it.

There you stood - beautiful, gorgeous, breathtaking. Despite his attempts to calm down, his mind went blank when he saw you. Then he panicked.

"Ah, hey, you're finally here..." he started, trailing off as he lost his words. He rubbed the nape of his neck awkwardly, looking anywhere but at you. "Come in, come in! Make yourself at home, and tell me if you need anything. After all, it's better to be comfortable if we want to work well on this project, yeah?"

Was he rambling? Probably. Ugh.