Demure

o n e

"Why is it so crowded today?" Emily asked, trying to warm herself up by clutching her cluttered notebooks to her chest.

Marissa shook her head in response.

"No idea. But at least we're next." She smiled, the smell of tea and coffee alone put her in a good mood.

"Have they published any of your articles yet?" Emily questioned while using her free hand to pull her beanie down further.

"Not yet, probably not ever. No one at the office really cares what a 19 year old has to say." Marissa chuckled.

"You're Healthy Living article was so good though! How could they not publish that?"

"I guess I just have to work my way up." She shrugged.

"Next in line!" The tall barista shouted.

"Hello! Could I get a medium chai tea latte please?" Marissa asked, pulling her old brown wallet out of her bag.

"Of course, and for you ma'am?"

"Um, I'll have a small pumpkin spice latte please."

"Alrighty, could I get names?"

"Marissa and Emily." Marissa gestured herself and her best friend.

"Okay, you're drinks will be out in a minute."

Thank you." They spoke in unison.

They took a seat at the table next to the window. The view of the soft, pale snow sprinkling down from the clouds above was beautiful.

Marissa and Emily both agreed that moving to Chicago was the best decision of their lives. It was so different from Norco, California, and they absolutely adored it.

"What classes do you have today?" Emily spoke up.

Marissa was pulled out of her daze and back into the present.

"Er, I have creative writing at eight, ceramics at nine thirty and international cultures at noon. I'm probably gonna leave after that because I really don't want to go to calculus."

"Alright then, at one do you want to come with me up to the dorms? I want to go to see the graffiti room."

"Sure." Marissa smiled.

"Emily and Marissa!" The barista called, signaling that their drinks were ready.

"Alright well I'll meet you there at one then?" Marissa asked, pulling her small bag over her shoulder and grabbing her tea.

"Yep. I'll see you later."

"Bye!"

° ° ° ° ° °

To say Marissa was having a bad day would be an understatement.

Before she even got to her first class, some asshole bumped into her and made her spill the tea all over her white jacket. He didn't even apologize.

Later, she realized that she left her notebook with all of her work for her creative writing class in her apartment. She was asked to leave class and was stuck with nothing to do for an hour.

Ceramics would've been fine, if not for some asshole and his stupid friends getting caught smoking weed in the back room. Marissa scoffed at them, they thought they were being sneaky.

The looks on their faces were hilarious, they all looked so scared. Except for one.

He was standing behind the other three, a bored expression on his face. His hair was shaved on either side of his head, leaving long messy curls styled at the top and back of his head.

The boy looked in her direction and gave a small smirk and a subtle wink before looking bored again and following the professor out of the class.

Marissa's heart fluttered at the gesture, it was so simple yet so... she couldn't describe it. All she knew was that this boy was captivating and she needed to see him again.

° ° ° ° ° °

It was twelve forty five and Marissa was rushing to the dorms to meet up with Emily. She almost forgot about their plans they made this morning.

She found the dorms and entered the elevator, hitting the big "3" on the door. When it finally took her to her destination, she jogged out into the long hallway and eventually found Emily patiently waiting on a bench in the hall.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Marissa apologized.

"Oh it's fine! Don't even worry." She smiled in return. Marissa was so thankful for Emily.

She led the two of them to the graffiti room and it really was as cool as everyone said it was. There were so many swirls of different colors and shapes scattering the floors and walls. It was beautiful.

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone turning on music. It wasn't too loud, but it was loud enough to hear from where they were standing.

"Is this the Neighbourhood?" Emily pondered, more to herself than to Marissa.

She began walking slowly to find the source of it, and when they did, Marissa was once again left breathless.

There he was, with his stupid v-neck shirt and his black pants and combat boots. He was spray painting the white wall canvas in front of him. Each swift motion of spray paint moving in sync with the music. He looked as if he were in his own world then, as if nothing or no one else mattered.

The way his brows furrowed while he concentrated on his art, the way his hand held the cans so delicately, the way he lost himself in his art. It was beautiful, he was beautiful.

She was physically and emotionally drawn to him in every shape and way possible. And he was looking her way.

He turned the knob on his small portable radio, lowering the sound of the music.

"Sorry, I playing that too loud?"

Marissa thought she was going to die right then and there. He had the sexiest fucking accent she has ever heard, and she would do anything to hear him say her name just once.

"No not at all!" Emily took the liberty of answering him, "We're huge fans of that band and we just wanted to see where it was coming from."

"Oh, alright then."

He looked like he was going to go back to painting, but then changed his mind. He turned towards Marissa and her heart nearly stopped.

"Hey, you're the girl from that ceramics class, right?" His beautiful voice chimed.

"Uh, yeah." She spoke to him for the first time.

"Cool." He smirked again, "So do I get the pleasure of knowing your name?"

"Um, it's Marissa Jane. And that's Emily Rios." She muttered, cheeks beginning to blush.

"Cute, Marissa Jane huh? Well I'm gonna call you Mary. Mary Jane. Yep, that has a nice ring to it."

"Alright dude, whatever floats your boat." She giggled. "So what's your name then?"

He turned to her, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.

"Matty Healy."