📖 Chapter 1: The Girl in the Mirror

The morning sun peeked through the white curtains like an annoying friend who doesn’t know what “five more minutes” means. Riri Winters groaned dramatically and rolled over on her bed, burying her face in her pillow.

“Why is the sun so clingy? I said no.”

She squinted one eye open and reached for her phone. 6:42 a.m.

Too early to be productive. Too late to fall back asleep. The tragedy.

Still half-asleep, she dragged herself to the mirror across the room. Her long hair was a mess — a majestic, tangled crown of sleep-induced chaos. She looked into her own reflection and tilted her head.

“Damn, you really chose violence with your hair today,” she muttered, brushing strands behind her ears.

Her eyes, wide and doe-like, blinked back at her. Her chubby cheeks were slightly puffed from sleep, and her lips — not too thin, not too full — were pursed like she was about to give herself a lecture.

There she was. Riri Winters.

5’1” of raw attitude, soft hips, a ridiculously tiny waist, and the power to verbally destroy anyone who dared disrespect her. Not that she ever did it. She believed in kindness… until someone earned the other side.

“People say mirrors don’t lie,” she said aloud. “But they also don’t pay rent, so they should keep their opinions to themselves.”

She smiled.

Not because she thought she looked perfect. But because she didn’t need to.

No guy had ever liked her. Not once. Not even a dumb middle school crush.

And honestly? That used to bother her.

But these days?

She just didn't give a damn.

---

Downstairs, her best friend was already waiting on video call.

Lisa.

Lisa with the perfect eyeliner, chaotic energy, and “I will fight your ex for you” vibe.

“Girl, you’re alive! I thought you choked on your own sarcasm last night,” Lisa said, sipping her iced coffee like a true villain.

Riri grinned. “Nah. I only choke on men’s expectations.”

Lisa cackled so hard she choked on her straw. “You need to stop. I’m gonna die.”

“You dying would be my villain origin story, so please don’t.”

They talked for a few minutes — mostly roasting each other in the way only true besties could.

Riri had met Lisa during orientation week. Lisa was the first person who didn’t look at her body with pity or judgment. She just saw Riri. And that was enough.

---

As she got dressed, Riri stared at her jeans.

Soft hips versus denim: the eternal war.

“Please cooperate today,” she told them like she was negotiating peace terms. Miraculously, they did.

She looked in the mirror one more time.

Crop top. High-waisted jeans. A little gloss.

“Cute. Comfortable. And just threatening enough to keep men two feet away.”

College had been a reset button — a new place where no one knew her. She’d expected awkwardness, maybe even judgment. But instead… she found freedom. No one whispered. No one laughed. No one stared — or if they did, she didn’t care anymore.

And maybe… just maybe… she was ready for more.

More than invisibility.

More than settling.

More than “just the funny girl.”

She wasn’t looking for love. That was the plot twist.

But love?

Might be looking for her.

---

End of Chapter 1

Chapter 2: The New Guy with the Storm in His Eyes

Riri hated English class.

Not the subject — she liked reading about tragic love stories and misunderstood characters. She just hated sitting still for 90 minutes while someone tried to explain what the author really meant by using a blue curtain.

“Maybe they just liked blue,” she mumbled under her breath, scribbling in her notebook.

She was doodling a half-eaten cookie beside the word melancholy when the classroom door creaked open. Every head turned.

Including hers.

The guy who walked in was tall — but not in a “basketball team” way. More like, I wear dark jackets and have mysterious trauma way.

Dark hair. Pale skin. Sharp jawline.

And those eyes?

Icy blue. The kind of blue that didn’t ask for attention — it demanded it. Cold and quiet and piercing.

Riri blinked.

Oh. Okay.

He handed the professor a paper and didn’t say much. Just nodded and moved to sit two rows behind her, near the window.

The professor cleared her throat. “Everyone, we have a new student joining us. Aaron Thorne. He transferred from Saint Ezra's.”

Saint Ezra’s? That sounded like a school where everyone wore ties and had butlers named Alfred.

Riri twisted in her seat just enough to glance at him.

Aaron was staring out the window like he’d just been dropped into a world he didn’t want to be in.

Lisa leaned forward from the seat behind her and whispered, “Ten bucks says he writes poetry and refuses to show anyone.”

Riri smirked. “Twenty says he has a tragic past and probably listens to sad indie music alone in the rain.”

They giggled, earning a look from the professor.

After class, the hallway buzzed with chatter and plans for lunch. Lisa was busy texting three people at once — probably trying to organize everyone into one café like she was building the Avengers.

“I swear,” she said, “getting people to agree on food is harder than passing calculus.”

“I’ll just grab something from the vending machine,” Riri said, eyeing the glowing snack box of dreams.

As she walked down the hall alone, digging through her bag for change, her phone slipped and hit the floor with a sad little clack.

“Ugh, betrayal,” she muttered, crouching to pick it up.

That’s when a shadow paused beside her.

“Here.” A voice. Calm. Low.

Aaron.

He bent slightly, picking up her lip gloss which had rolled near his foot, and handed it to her without blinking.

Riri froze for half a second.

“Thanks,” she said, brushing her hair behind her ear. “Didn’t realize my entire purse wanted to escape.”

His lips quirked — just a tiny twitch. “It happens.”

Then he turned to leave.

Riri stood up, watching him walk away.

Huh.

Okay, so maybe he wasn’t as cold as he looked. Maybe he was just… quiet.

Or awkward.

Or an alien sent to study human emotions, starting with vending machines.

Either way, something flickered in her chest. Not a crush. No way. More like curiosity with a side of huh, he’s not terrible.

Lisa ran up a second later, panting. “Did you talk to him?! I saw him handing you something. Oh my god, are you dating now? Did he propose?”

Riri rolled her eyes. “He picked up my lip gloss. If that’s romance, I’ve been in a relationship with my carpet for years.”

Lisa laughed. “Okay, but did you notice his hands? Like, why are they that elegant? What is he, a villain pianist?”

Riri didn’t answer.

Because yeah…

She did notice his hands.

---

That night, curled up in bed, Riri stared at the ceiling.

No guy had ever picked up her things like that. Or looked her in the eye like she wasn’t just there, but seen.

She shook her head. “It’s nothing. Don’t get weird, Winters.”

Still, as she closed her eyes, all she could see were those stormy blue eyes.

And the tiniest, almost invisible smile that had curled at the corner of his mouth.

---

End of Chapter 2

Chapter 3: French Fries and New Faces

The cafeteria was chaos.

People yelling across tables, laughter bouncing off the walls, trays clattering, someone somewhere playing music from a Bluetooth speaker no one asked for.

Riri balanced her food like it was an Olympic sport — one plate stacked with fries, the other with nuggets. She narrowed her eyes at Lisa.

“I swear if you drop my food, I’ll sell your skincare to a twelve-year-old.”

Lisa grinned. “Please. Like I’d ever betray the sacred snack bond.”

They slid into their usual booth — corner table, right under the AC vent that never worked.

“I invited Isla and Jace, by the way,” Lisa added, biting into her sandwich.

“Who?”

“You’ve met them. Isla’s in our psych class — pink hair, always has stickers on her laptop. And Jace’s the tall, flirty one who keeps changing majors.”

“Ohhh. The bisexual menace and the future dropout. Got it.”

Riri loved making fun of people she liked. And she did like Isla and Jace — even though they were the kind of effortlessly cool that usually made her feel like background noise. But with Lisa around, she felt like she belonged.

A few minutes later, they showed up.

Isla sat beside Riri and instantly gasped. “You got curly fries?! I knew I loved you.”

“I don’t share food,” Riri warned, placing a protective hand over her tray.

Jace, tall with messy curls and a grin that screamed trouble, slid into the seat across from her.

“So,” he said, eyes sparkling, “rumor has it the new guy talked to you.”

Lisa almost choked on her drink. “HOW does everyone know already?!”

Jace shrugged. “I have ears. And drama radar.”

Riri rolled her eyes. “He picked up my lip gloss. That’s not flirting. That’s gravity.”

“But did your fingers touch?” Isla asked, wiggling her brows.

“No.”

“Did your eyes meet?”

“Briefly. He has the vibe of someone who listens to the sound of rain while reading Russian literature.”

Jace laughed. “That’s hot.”

“I’m not interested.”

They all gave her a look.

“Seriously!” Riri said, crossing her arms. “Guys don’t go for girls like me. I’m the bestie. The comic relief. The one who makes memes about being single until she dies under a pile of cats and cashback coupons.”

“You’re so dramatic,” Lisa muttered. “Also, kinda hot.”

Jace nodded. “I’d date you.”

“Shut up, you’d date a cheese stick.”

“Don’t disrespect cheese like that.”

They laughed and teased and shared fries — Riri even allowed two to be stolen in the name of friendship — and for a moment, she forgot about Aaron Thorne and his eyes like winter storms.

---

Later that evening...

Aaron sat at the back corner of the library, hoodie up, music low in his ears. Lo-fi. No lyrics. Just beats and silence.

He liked the quiet.

He liked the stillness of books and the way people left him alone here. No noise, no pretending, no fake laughs or shallow stares.

He turned a page, but he wasn’t reading.

He was thinking about her.

Riri Winters.

Small. Sharp. Hilarious.

He hadn’t expected the lip gloss thing to matter. But it stayed in his mind all day. The way she’d looked at him — like he wasn’t intimidating or special. Just… a guy picking up something.

She hadn’t looked at his face with curiosity or awe. She looked him in the eyes. Spoke like she wasn’t trying to impress. Like she expected him to keep up with her.

He didn’t know why that stuck.

But it did.

And that laugh? He’d heard it from two rows away in class. Big, unapologetic, contagious.

He didn’t usually notice people. Not like this.

But he noticed her.

And maybe…

Maybe he wanted her to notice him too.

---

End of Chapter 3