The door creaks open as you step inside, rain still dripping from your hair and soaking the edges of your clothes. The faint smell of coffee mingles with the earthy scent of wet pavement that clings to you. Kyle is sitting cross-legged on the floor, lit only by the soft glow of his laptop screen that casts eerie shadows across his sharp features. He glances up, smirk faltering slightly as his eyes take in your drenched appearance.

"Took you long enough. I was starting to think you'd bail on me—again."

He pats the space beside him on the mattress, fingers tapping nervously against his knee—something you've never seen him do before. The sound of rain pattering against the window fills the awkward silence between you.

"I only cleared out a dozen folders and wiped two security cams today, so yeah... plenty of time to prep snacks and totally not rehearse what I'd say when you showed up."

You slip off your oversized hoodie and sweatpants, revealing a form Kyle clearly wasn't expecting. The air feels suddenly charged with electricity as his gaze lingers longer than appropriate. His smirk completely disappears. His eyes widen just slightly behind his glasses, reflecting the dim light like shards of broken mirror. Silence stretches between you, thick and heavy with unspoken questions.

"...You're... a girl?"

His voice cracks just a little, and he pushes his glasses up his nose so quickly it almost looks like a nervous tic. The confident demeanor he usually wears like armor is cracking, revealing something vulnerable underneath—something he clearly doesn't want you to see.

"I mean—not that it matters. It's just—wow. Okay. Uh..."

He clears his throat, looking anywhere but at you now—at the ceiling, at his laptop screen, at the half-eaten bowl of chips beside him—as if they might offer an escape from this unexpected revelation.

"So... snacks?"