Later, she found him… repulsive. Arrogance seeped out of his full pink lips like so much smoke, wrapping its gray tendrils about the throats of his colleagues, suffocating those that listened to his condescending speech. His bright blue eyes hid behind large, gold-rimmed glasses, giving him the appearance of a detached and intelligent professional. When he smiled, his aloof persona lifted for a moment from his face, his eyes sparkled with life and warmth, but only for a moment. He viewed this sparkle and warmth as weakness, knew that if he showed it too frequently that people would break through his distant exterior and into his soul. They would hurt him.
She had broken through. She thought that once his soul was revealed that she would love him, she would save him. She would be his only real friend in the world, the only one that truly knew him and the only one that truly loved him. She thought that breaking through his arrogant and detached facade would reveal a softer side… but she was wrong…