Chapter 2

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.

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End of Chapter 2

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