Dainty and Dauntless

Loop:

My eyes glimmered at yours before and got no response. I have issues currently. Yours seem to glimmer now yet mine don't want to show my desperation.

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It begins with the initial spark of recognition—an accidental meeting of eyes across a room, perhaps amidst a crowd or during a fleeting moment of quiet. In that instant, something shifts subtly in the air between the boy and the girl. Their eyes lock, holding each other's gaze for a fraction longer than customary, as if testing the waters of mutual intrigue.

Through their eyes, the boy and the girl navigate a delicate balance of revealing and concealing. They tease and test, drawing closer with each exchanged look while maintaining a respectful distance that heightens the allure of the encounter. In this way, flirting through glances becomes a dance of intimacy, where emotions are explored and boundaries gently nudged.
...

Natalie had planned to pass by the library today. She wanted to do some personal revision so she had headed out during her free period.
She was early and found the library almost empty if not for three  students who were spaced out across the three columns.
She took a seat at the back of the second column, the best place to read.
She was at least ten minutes into her revision when the door cracked open and Ethan stepped inside.
He only had a book in hand as he searched the room, his eyes settling on Natalie who had raised her eyes to glance at whomever was making their way inside.

She only looked at him once, then to his shoes and back to her books.

Natalie didn't want to know why he was here. She wished he would do what ever he pleased and for her not to mind it. It was crucial she kept her mind free from "Ethan thoughts".
She heard the wooden stool screech from the third column and couldn't wait to get done with the revision. It had been thirty minutes into reading when Natalie sat up for a stretch. She didn't intend to look his way but when she did, he was turned to the back and he seemed to be asleep. He had the book to his chest and head leaning against the wall.

But when Natalie squinted her eyes to view his face, his eyes seemed to be half closed. Was he actually awake? His right eye was almost open. She wondered if he slept like that.
Snap out of it! She told herself and withdrew her eyes away from him.
She only had ten minutes left for her library time. She should do better than stare at him.

Finally! When she was done, she packed fast and got up to leave only to catch a glimpse of Ethan marching towards and out the door. She didn't mind him and made her way out too.
Two stairways led away from the library, one to the left and the other to the right. Natalie always used the one to the left.
She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. She felt a bit exhausted and couldn't wait to get back in her room and lay down.
She stopped in her tracks, halfway through. Ethan stood at the fifth step leaning on the wall, legs crossed. He seemed to be waiting for someone.
When he glanced up, Natalie's impulses were too quick. She didn't realize it when she made a U-turn and sprinted up the stairs, bemused. She was trying her best to stay away from him and looked forward to succeeding.
Still, she couldn't help blush a little. If he was actually there in hopes of talking to her, she thought it cute, but he had seen her clearly avoid him. The more she thought about it, the more she felt the urge to turn and get back to him. She held her hand to her mouth as she neared the end of the steps.
She almost called out his name when her eyes landed on Ethan.
He stood at the bottom of this stairway too, looking up at her, legs crossed again.
God only knows how huge her eyes bulged and heart thumped at that instant. Her body stiffened as she got to the end of the stairs and he just kept staring.
Was he going to say anything?
She tried to slow down and looked up at him. He stared back but said nothing so she walked away as fast as she could.
Her mind tried to make sense of how he was at this staircase when she had left him at the other.
"How did he get to this side? Did he run all the way here?, she gasped, "Wait, am I imagining this?" She looked back swiftly and saw Ethan still looking at her.
She was completely perplexed.
He was really taking it too far now. Why couldn't he let her get over him? She needed it.
The more she thought about it the weaker her barricade to her heart grew. She couldn't stop herself thinking.

She had told Elise about the incident out of curiosity. She wanted to know what she thought about the matter.
"Why did you run away?" Elise had kept on asking Natalie.

"I don't know. I did not want to face him and It just happened, Natalie tried to explain. I don't think that gave him the idea to wait up for me at the end of the other stairs?"

"I don't know, maybe"
Elise didn't know either? Natalie had hoped she would say it was nothing. That would have stopped Natalie from thinking hard about the incident but Elise too wasn't certain. Natalie got a bad feeling about where this was going.

Days later, Natalie was in the cafeteria with Garf and Elise, queued up to get their meals. Garf was asking Elise what she was going to have and Elise was trying to explaining why she was going on a diet.
Natalie kept chipping in a few times as she giggled at their cuteness. Garf was taking his sweet time to finally confess his feelings to Elise.
A minute later someone joined the line and she couldn't guess who until they spoke. They were talking to some boys, probably queued up too. She panicked inside and tried to move a step forward but when she did, so did they.
Then they got closer and closer. Natalie could feel their body lightly bumping hers as they continuously turned front and back, all the while laughing at what the other boys seemed to be saying.
She had shut her eyes and held her breath, wishing it could stop immediately.

"Please stop! Please, please, please" Her mind was screaming out.

The line moved and she paced on until she was out of the queue. When she looked back, Ethan seemed oblivious.

Lunch break was almost over and Natalie had excused herself to the urinals. When she was done, she joined the river of students flowing to their classrooms. As usual, she paced fast and kept a stern face, dodging every other person that was in her way.
Then she saw Ethan walking in the opposite direction of the classroom. She took a deep breath, clenched her fists more and walked on. As she drew closer she looked up at him only for a second and back to the front.
"Good afternoon," she heard him whisper and she looked back almost immediately to reply back softly. He didn't look back and he kept on walking.

She was losing control again. Why was Ethan doing all this?

Natalie sat down, her fingers nervously tracing the edge of her notebook. She was convinced Ethan did not like her. He had made it clear in front of her friends. What confused her were the mixed signals she'd been receiving from him.
She had began believing again because of all the unlikely instances. This time was different. She didn't want uncertainty.

"I need answers"

                                          🔁🔁🔁