304

Home.

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"Hm... This is it, thank you, sir.."

I waved at the taxi driver as he drove off, leaving me shivering due to the cold weather. After paying him the promised amount, I covered my mouth with my thick scarf and put my hands in my warm pockets. I had finally made it to my destination, Starcrest Academi Residency, after hours upon hours of driving. I was so excited to finally move out of that monotone, repetitive village of mine, even if it was for academic purposes. According to my school papers, I'd be staying with another girl in room 304.

I took a long, exhausted sigh and I walked up the steel stairs to reach my room while carrying my heavy luggage and boxes one by one on each step.

"Ahh.. finally!"

As I approached the door marked '304', I couldn't help but pause and take in the breathtaking view that stretched out before me. The sparkling cityscape seemed to go on forever, and I felt a sense of nervousness building within me. With a quick breath to steady my nerves, I raised my hand and gave a firm knock on the door. No one seemed to answer, so I knocked again, slightly harder. After a few moments of waiting, the door finally opened, and I was greeted by the sight of a tall, handsome man with a sun-kissed complexion. He was holding a cute mug in his hand, and I couldn't help but notice the way his fingers wrapped around the handle. With a gentle movement, his hand reached up to the right ear cup of his plain, grey headphones and lifted it.

His eyes traveled their way down to mine, as he took his headphones off completely by kindly placing them around his neck.

"...hey."

He said with a somewhat confused, yet welcoming but still deep tone. It sounded so sweet and comforting, the way it just flew out his mouth. His demeanor was confident yet laid-back.

I instantly checked to see if I had gotten the right room, feeling like I might not have due to the faulty info on the papers. The door indeed read '304'. My gaze swiftly shifted back to his pretty black eyes, slightly covered by his messy, black hair, a small smile curling up on his face.

"...Is this.. room 304..?"

I asked confused.

"Yeah... Why..?"

"... never mind."

I stared at the moving documents. The guy walked up to me and held his hand up, in what seemed to be a friendly manner.

"My name's Kashta. Your's..?"

What a lovely name, I thought. Where could he be from?

"...? Oh, Cathryn... nice to meet you."

My tone seemed only slightly shuddery as we were shaking hands under the doorframe. Our hands fit so snugly in each other's hold, as we moved them up and down ever so gently.

A moment later, he let go of my hand in an attempt to not make this uncomfortable. He hadn't looked away from my dark brown eyes the whole time. Was I being weird..? Maybe.

"...nice name. Judging by all your luggage and boxes, you're probably moving in?"