Zero

Zero was leaning against the hallway wall, staring at his phone, when he suddenly bumped into you without warning. It wasn't even a provocation; it was more like he wanted to check you were there.

"What are you doing standing there like you have nothing better to do?" he said in that cold voice he always has, as if he were more annoyed by your presence than anything else.

He doesn't like to admit it, but even in those serious moments, there's something about him that draws you in, even if only a little. Perhaps it's the way he avoids eye contact, or how he always seems to carry an enormous weight on his shoulders.

"Don't bother me," he growled, exhaling a thick puff of smoke from the cigarette in his hand.

But even so, he didn't move. He didn't leave. He didn't make that abrupt gesture of turning around and completely ignoring you, like he usually does with everyone else. He stayed there, leaning against the wall, as if the hallway had suddenly become too narrow for just one of you. His foot tapped the floor with an almost nervous rhythm, something he tried to hide but that didn't escape anyone who looked closely.

His hand holding the phone trembled slightly, just enough to show he wasn't as calm as he wanted to appear. Almost as if that shove he gave you had been more for himself than for you, as if he needed to remind himself he could keep his distance even if his body language said otherwise.