only you - mattia polibio ff

i - h i s t o r y

l e i l a n i

i walked at a tamed pace, earbuds dangling, my hands stuffed inside my pockets. i was making my way to school, simply enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the morning. i took in the bright, vivid sunlight squinting, almost, at me.

to be honest, i really enjoyed the walks to school. they were therapeutic, a time for myself where i could clear my head without any sort of distraction.

at this time, normally - roads would be empty, and rarely anyone would be outside. it was around 7:20am, and i had been walking for approximately 5 minutes, though abruptly i heard a distant 'revving' noise. i took no notice at first, because someone may have had an early shift or something, though it began to become louder and louder as if they were following me.

the car slowed down beside me, as i turned to look to my right. there he was, he still had the same expression he always had, pretty olive skin, hazelnut coloured eyes, his mocha - shaded hair swept to one side. we kept eye contact for a moment, as the car soon began to pick up it's pace and altogether was out of sight as quick as it had arrived.

mattia polibio.

we attended the same middle school, and we were pretty close actually. we spent every afternoon together, and our parents regularly hung out. back then, i saw him as simply average: though the years had truly blessed him. he was attractive, to say the least - your stereotypical 'popular boy.' he played soccer, got girls like it was nothing, and he had that one friend group everyone wished they were apart of.

we never really stopped talking, though as high school came, we both found our people; that was that.

i just about entered the school premises on time, though barely making it through. the courtyard was empty, and i quickly made my way towards my first lesson of the day - english - creative writing.

i entered quietly, taking my seat at the front, emptying my bag, taking out the stationery needed. i was lucky to be sat next to a good friend of mine, austin.

"hey lani!" he said, a welcoming tone saturating his voice.

i smiled back, cheerily, replying in the same manner.

austin and i had met back when we were freshman, and he seemed almost as nervous as i was at first. once we had talked, we had clicked straight away, and ever since then we had been great friends.

whilst planning a future narrative, i had realised the back of the class was most definitely more unsettled than the front, many laughs and comments being passed throughout. i never paid much attention to anything that happened really, in general, and would get on with my work as if all were silent.

today though, it seemed like a much more difficult task.

i felt the same stare i'd felt earlier, though much more intense, as if i were being studied. i took a glance behind me, and caught his eye straight away. quickly, we both looked away in unison, hoping the other hadn't noticed the others gaze.

shaking my head, i convinced myself.
'hey, lani, look forward, focus!' i would repeat as if it would change anything. the same staring would go on and on, and it was clear that mattia's friends had acknowledged this too.

alejandro looked over, nudging mattia slightly.

"you okay there, lover boy?"

"shut up." mattia replied blatantly.

embarrassed, i turned around swiftly, realising alejandro had been referring to me.

they had both observed this.

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after fourth period, i strolled towards the cafeteria, austin next to me, as we discussed several different topics. once we had entered, we sat down together at a table, consisting of my two other best friends, olivia and blair. they seemed to be over - excited; though that was normal considering it was them. once they had became aware of our presence, they greeted us happily, then returned back to their conversation, asking for our shared opinions.

feeling peckish, i got up and walked towards the lunch line, money in hand, preparing to obtain a meal. i got up pretty late, i didn't really have any time to pack anything. once i entered the line, i realised one of mattia's friends, kairi, was a couple people in front. his dark hair was scattered across his head, though it somehow always looked perfect. he was pretty short, 5'4' reaching 5'5'.

his eyes scanned over the room, when they caught mine. they lit up, and a smirk spread across his face. he exited the line, only to come over to me.

"so, you and mattia a thing, huh?" he teased.

"what do you mean?" i asked in response, pointing out that he clearly had gotten something wrong.

"you guys were eyeing each other crazy in first period."

"it really isn't-"

i spoke before i was interrupted. i felt someone tower over me, as i hesitantly turned to face them.

it was mattia.

"hey, leave her alone bro." mattia intervened playfully.

i didn't know whether he was making fun of me or not, so i kept my mouth shut.

"alright, i'll leave you and your girl alone." kairi said, laughing, as he walked in the opposite direction.

we both turned again to face each other, inches apart. we had figured this out, and stepped back in sync. seeing this, we both shared a smile.

"you good?" he asked, not seeming concerned, though just finding a way to create small talk.

"i'm okay, thanks." i replied, my appetite suddenly lost.

he saluted me, soon then sauntering off, his tall figure blocking my initial view.

i hurried towards my table, my friends oblivious to anything that had occurred.

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the final bell rang, and after saying goodbyes to my friends, i began to set off home.

plugging in my earbuds, i felt myself wanting to block any sort of thoughts or feelings. at the time, i felt confused. i felt myself missing mattia and i's relationship, when we didn't have to create any sort of small talk, and we weren't as awkward as we were now.

i mean, i could imagine all i wanted, though, this wasn't middle school anymore.

i sighed to myself, picking up my pace, wanting to get home as fast as i could.

walking up my front lawn, i saw someone wave me over. he seemed as if he wanted something, so i jogged towards him. i'm pretty sure he was new around here, and he had been attending my school for not so long.

"hey, uh-" robert stuttered.

"leilani, lani for short." i corrected him, laughing slightly.

"oh yeah! that's what it was." he said, scratching the back of his neck as if he were embarrassed.

"i'm robert, by the way."

i had heard of him before. he hung out with mattia's group, and to be honest, he seemed like a pretty okay guy.

"aren't you that girl in my maths class? the one who's really smart?"

i felt shy.

"that's me." i said, my eyes averting downwards.

"it was nice to get acquainted with you, i gotta head in before my dad goes insane." he said, waving to me once again as he fumbled with his keys.

i waved back, a small smile on my face, also proceeding to enter my house.

p.s. yes this chapter is kinda boring, though every story has to start somewhere, haha!

thank you for reaching here!