Sparks in the Shadows

The campus cafeteria was alive with chatter, trays clinking, and the low buzz of students trying to survive yet another endless day of lectures. Lines stretched near the food counter, laughter erupted at random tables, and the air smelled faintly of stale coffee mixed with grease from fries no one really wanted but everyone bought anyway.

In the farthest corner, as always, sat Chinno. Earbuds in, notebook open, eyes fixed on the page. She looked like a fortress focused, untouchable, and certainly not inviting anyone in. Her sharp expression and rigid posture had created an invisible wall over time, one the other students had long stopped trying to climb.

But William… well, William was not anyone.

He strolled into the cafeteria with his usual careless swagger, as if the space had been designed just for him. His friends trailed behind, laughing at some half-told joke, clapping him on the back like he was the sun around which they all orbited. His confidence wasn’t loud in volume, but in presence. People looked up when William entered; they always did.

And though he’d never admit it not even to himself his eyes immediately searched for her. It didn’t take long. There she was, head bent over her notes, chewing her pen with that little frown that made her look perpetually irritated at the world.

A smirk tugged at his lips. Perfect target.

He raised his voice just enough to cut through the cafeteria’s buzz.

“Well, if it isn’t the Ice Queen herself. Careful, Chinno, your glare might actually freeze the coffee machine.”

Her head snapped up. Those sharp eyes locked on him, unamused.

“Funny, William,” she said, voice smooth and deadly calm. “Don’t you have a fan club to entertain? Or did they finally realize your charm is only skin-deep?”

A chorus of ooohs rippled through his friends. William clutched his chest theatrically, staggering as if she’d just struck him with a dagger.

“Harsh,” he said, feigning pain. “I was only being friendly. You wound me, sweetheart.”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Don’t call me sweetheart. I’m not one of your cheap conquests.”

That hit harder than he expected. For the briefest second, his smirk faltered. But William wasn’t one to back down. He stepped closer, leaning against her table, bracing one hand beside her notebook. His voice dropped, low and rough, carrying only to her.

“You think you’ve figured me out? Trust me, Chinno… you have no idea.”

Her heartbeat stuttered, though her face betrayed nothing. Instead, she snapped her notebook shut with a sharp clap, pushed back her chair, and rose to her full height. Chin tilted up, eyes steady.

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

She brushed past him, perfume lingering like a challenge, leaving him standing there with his jaw tight and his mind a storm.

William told himself he hated her - her arrogance, her sharp tongue, her refusal to bend. But the truth was more dangerous. Every glare, every comeback, every wall she threw at him only pulled him deeper. He wanted to dig under her skin until she cracked, to see what she was hiding.

And Chinno? She told herself she hated him too or at least, she wanted to. But later that night, lying in her dorm bed, her mind betrayed her. She remembered the heat in his eyes, the way his voice had dropped when he said she had no idea.

Her chest tightened with something dangerous.

Something forbidden.

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