Chapter 6
I didn't expect to see him again.
Not today.
Not here.
Not in the library, tucked behind towering stacks of textbooks like he belonged in a completely different world from mine.
But there he was.
Adrian.
Headphones on, brows furrowed in concentration, tapping away on his laptop. Focused. Immense presence. Immense... something else.
I froze for a second.
My chest thudded.
Heart racing.
Hands clammy.
A small thrill went up my spine I wasn't ready to name.
I wanted to run.
I wanted to smile.
I wanted to pretend I didn't care.
And yet, before I could decide, his head lifted.
Our eyes met.
That same magnetic pull. That same shock from the rain.
Only now, stronger.
He smiled slightly, not cocky, not arrogant. Just... him.
And somehow, my rational mind failed entirely.
"Hey," he said softly, voice low enough to make me lean forward, almost forgetting to breathe.
"Hi," I managed. My own voice sounded small, unfamiliar even to me.
"You're everywhere," he said, almost casually. But I caught the undercurrent - the intensity, the awareness, the fixation.
"Excuse me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You. Here. Library. Again. Fate seems... determined."
I laughed nervously, trying to regain control.
"Or coincidence," I replied.
His gaze didn't waver.
"I don't do coincidence," he said simply.
The truth settled in my chest like heat from a fire I couldn't touch.
Every rational thought told me to ignore him.
Every instinct told me this was dangerous.
And yet...
I was glad he was here.
We ended up sitting at the same table - not planning to, not intending to - but somehow, it felt inevitable.
We talked.
About classes. About professors. About ridiculous campus rumors. About the chaotic rain earlier that morning.
Nothing important. Everything important.
Every time he laughed, my chest tightened. Every time he tilted his head toward me, listening, genuinely listening, I felt like the world had narrowed to just the two of us.
He was so easy to talk to. So... magnetic. I could see why everyone might notice him, but for some reason, he only seemed to notice me.
A subtle brush of his hand against mine when he reached for a pen made my stomach flip. I wanted to pull back. I wanted to stay composed.
I didn't.
Because a part of me... wanted him close.
Closer than anyone should be in a first conversation.
Time slipped by faster than I noticed.
The library, normally quiet, seemed alive with a soft buzz I barely registered. I wasn't aware of anyone else. Not the students rushing by, not the professors pacing their rounds.
Only him.
And then, inevitably... the bell signaled the hour.
Reality intruded.
We stood awkwardly, our conversation unfinished, our attention still tethered to one another.
"I guess..." he hesitated, searching for words, "I'll see you around?"
I nodded, trying to keep my voice steady. "Yeah. Around."
Our hands brushed accidentally again as we both reached for our bags.
Neither of us pulled away immediately. The second contact lingered just long enough to make me aware of the warmth of his skin, the tension in his palm.
And just like that, my pulse spiked.
He watched me leave. Not in a casual way, not in an indifferent way. He watched like he had to remember every detail.
I felt it. I knew.
I wasn't the only one caught in this... whatever it was.
Walking away, I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder.
He was still there, leaning slightly forward, as if trying to hold on to the moment, to me.
And my heart ached.
Because I wanted to stay.
Because I wanted to sit there forever, trapped in the pull that had begun the first day in the rain.
But we both knew... it couldn't last forever.
As I moved through the library aisles, my mind replayed every detail.
His smile.
The way he leaned in to hear me better.
The subtle heat of his gaze.
The way it felt like he could see something inside me that no one else had.
I couldn't explain it.
And I didn't want to.
Because this... this feeling was intoxicating.
And it was just beginning.
I didn't know then that those brief, stolen moments would leave a mark.
A mark I would carry for years.
Even if I tried not to.
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