On The Way |M.L

chapter 5

(rain or Rain?)

The energy around campus was very vibrant today, with laughter echoing across courtyards and loud music blasting from open windows. Rain sat on one of the benches, waiting for launch break to be over, she was feeling dizzy from the lack of sleep, not to mention the PMs which were killing her lower stomach, it was a bad day to wear a skirt, but atleast it was brown right.

She didn't get coffee today, because she had left her wallet at home, which was still not locked by the way. From the corner of her eye, she could see the group of guys who made her uncomfortable approach. She shot up, hurrying inside one of the university buildings.

She wanted to go somewhere quiet, where talking wasn't allowed, so even if she got followed, they wouldn't be allowed to bother her, but she didn't know she would be the one causing a scene.

"Mark!" she said cheerfully, the male was sitting by the far corner, his headphones plugged, his figure was illuminated by the soft rays of sunlight streaming through the window, his relaxed posture exuded a quiet confidence, drawing her attention irresistibly, after all, he was the first person she noticed when she walked in.

Rain couldn't help but admire the way the sunlight played upon his features, highlighting the subtle nuances of his expression. To her, he looked like he was straight out of a painting.

He looked at her once, then focused back on his phone, not caring enough to unplug his headphones, still, Rain sat on the chair next to him, getting a big text book out of her bag.

Mark didn't say anything, and the girl didn't want to trouble his peace, she started lining some important notes on the book, but her gaze kept wandering back to him, she found herself admiring his features more and more, from the way his skin glowed like glass, to the way his hands moved effortlessly as he scrolled through his phone.

Lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed when her pencil slipped from her fingers, tumbling through the air before landing squarely on his lap.

Her heart skipped a beat as she watched the pencil make contact, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. His finger had finally stopped the repetetive scrolling, she could also notice that he paused the music.

His eyes landed on her pencil, which layed on his upper thighs, he tilted his head slighty to the side as he removed his headphones, detaching them from his phone then putting them on the table.

Rain could tell the man had a sharp temper, so she braced herself for his reaction, the flashbacks from their first encounter in the cafe didn't help either. To her surprise, however, he simply looked down at the pencil with a faint quirk of his eyebrow, a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes, then his gaze locked with hers.

"I'm terribly sorry" she said, her face was so red, she got so nervous to the point her stomach hurted way more than before.

Without a word, he picked up the pencil and handed it back to her, hand to hand, his demeanor far more relaxed than she had anticipated. Her fingers trembled for a second as she took it from his grip.

"What is it this time?" he asked after seconds of silent.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you here? Another link you have to send me?" he asked

"No- well- hey that's kind of mean, you're my friend what do you mean, can't say hi to my friend?" she said with a bright playful smile, the embarassement from earlier suddenly washing away.