“Text me when you reach home,” he says. I can feel my cheeks flush, and my heart feels a bit drunk. I try to hide it, but I can feel a strange fluttering in the pit of my stomach.
“Why?” I try to sound unaffected, but my voice comes out a little breathless. He takes another step closer, his eyes lingering overmy face.
“Because I want to make sure you reach home safely,” he replies. “And moreover, it’s my responsibility since I was the one who invited you here.” He gives me a forced smile.
I can’t help but feel a pang of disappointment at his words.Of course, I think bitterly.He's just being nice. I force a smile back, trying to hide my feelings that are hurt for some inexplicable reason. “Yeah, sure,” I say. “I will text you when I reach home.” And with one last look, I walk away from him.
∞∞∞
8
DANIEL
Going to a lecture on only two hours of sleep is torture, especially for a subject you don’t like. I had decided not to attend any business management lectures, but here I am, going just to see a certain brown-eyed, black-haired girl who seems to have me wrapped around her pretty fingers.
I grumble to myself as I walk across campus, my thoughts drifting back to last night. I ended up watching the movie she mentioned. I don’t even know why—maybe her excitement got to me. The movie was fine, and the actor? Yeah, I get why she’s obsessed. But the thing that stuck with me wasn’t the movie—it was her.
That’s the problem. She’s on my mind too much, and it’s messing with my head. I don’t do this—watching recommended movies, attending boring lectures just to see someone, or thinking about how her laugh sounded long after she’s gone.
It’s not like me, and it’s not supposed to be.
As I approach the classroom, I spot her sitting in the second row, her head bent down as she scribbles something in her notebook. She’s dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, yet she manages to look effortlessly beautiful.
I take a deep breath and walk over to her, taking the seatnext to her. She looks up, her brown eyes meeting mine, and I feel a familiar flutter in my chest.
“Morning,” I murmur, my eyes lingering on her face for a moment before I turn away to take out my notebook and pen.
“Hmm,” is all she says.What the-?I cock an eyebrow at her.
“I haven’t had coffee. Don’t mess with me right now,” she says grumpily.
I chuckle softly, a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. “You’re obsessed with coffee, aren’t you?” I comment. “Do you even drink something else?” I ask, genuinely eager to know.
“Water,” she says. “Occasionally though.” She glares.
I raise an eyebrow, a smirk playing on my lips. “You mean to tell me you run on coffee alone? You must be one walking caffeine addict,” I tease, watching her every movement intently.
She rolls her eyes at my comment and replies, “What can I say? Coffee is the fuel of creativity. It’s the elixir of life for people like me.” She grins slightly, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “And the caffeine addiction is just a small price to pay.”
I laugh, unable to help myself from finding her cheeky humor endearing. “Elixir of life, huh?” I echo, my smirk still in place. “I think you might have a case of caffeine insanity,” I tease, enjoying the way her eyes narrow at me.
She lets out a scoff, her eyes sparkling with mock indignation. “Caffeine insanity? I prefer to call it caffeine enlightenment,” she says, her tone dripping with sarcasm. My smile widens.
“I’ll buy you coffee after class,” I announced. Her jaw drops open, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Why–why would you do that?” She stutters, her voice laced with disbelief. Well, the real reason would be that I love seeing her reaction when she takes the first sip of her coffee, but I am definitely not saying that out loud.
I roll my eyes, pretending to be exasperated. “Because I’m a generous soul,” I tease, a playful smirk on my lips. “And I don’t want you to end up in jail because you’re caffeine deprived.” I watch as her surprise turns into a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. “Relax, firecracker. It’s just coffee.”
She looks at me skeptically, her eyes narrowing. “Just coffee, huh? And what do you get out of all this generosity?” She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me, clearly not convinced.
I chuckle, enjoying the sight of her stubbornness. “What? I can’t buy you a coffee?” I reply, feigning innocence. “Plus, I am doing this for the greater good of society. It will be added as a good deed of the day since I am saving everyone. You’re a menace when you’re angry.” I wink at her. “Experienced firsthand. If we weren’t in public space, you would have definitely killed me.” I chuckle. She swats my arm, but a small smile forms on her face, which makes my heart swell with pride that I am the reason behind it.
Her attention shifts as the professor starts the lecture, but I barely pay any attention to it. My focus is solely on the girl beside me, the sound of her soft breathing and the light scratching of her pen consuming my senses. I can’t help but sneak glances at her every now and then, taking in the way her brows furrow in concentration and the way her lips purse as she listens. The faint hum of the projector fills the room as sunlight streams through the blinds, casting stripes across her notebook.
She tears a page from her notebook. I look at her in surprise as she scribbles something on it and passes it to me.
STOP STARING!
