𝐋'𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐋 𝐃𝐔 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄 / 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐋

⋆ 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 ⋆

⋆ ☬ ⋆

author's note:
hi lovelies! this chapter is 7.8k words... which is pretty long. lmk if you'd prefer shorter chapters, about ~4.5 to 5k words like i've been doing, or if you don't care. just curious cus i think a future chapter is longer than this, so i'd appreciate any feedback!! thanks to everyone supporting me, its very motivating. okay bye!!

edit: i split it into two separate chapters!!!

comment, vote, share, and gimme besos.

⋆ ☬ ⋆

chapter three
「shermar」

the scent of freshly ground coffee mingled with the faint hum of 'frankenstein's bride' by lou val pouring through the cafe speakers. to shermar, it felt too quiet, too idle. though the moment he spotted her, everything around him blurred, the world narrowing in on her frame by the window, reading the pages of a worn book.

he watched the waitress bring out a glass of hot chocolate, its whipped cream piled high and dusted with cocoa. the woman smiled, lips curving softly as she thanked the waitress. her voice should've been too quiet to carry. yet somehow, it drifted through the air, slinking through the folds of his brain like a tender caress, squeezing daintily. the dim orange lighting bathed her skin, and shermar's fingers twitched as he pulled out a pink-colored pencil from his watercolor set.

her hair was gathered into a soft, fluffy ponytail, skin glowing with a sheen of moisturizer. she toyed with the edges of her book, fingers curling gently against the pages. each of her movements, fluid and delicate, sent his pulse racing.

a rough sketch of the scene formed in his notebook, whether from his hyper-focus, the familiarity of her face, or the caffeine buzzing through his system. as he painted, something settled inside of him, like a deep sense of clarity. which seemed rare these days. she was perfect: the tilt of her head, the way she leaned into her palm, engrossed in whatever she was reading. even the way she cradled her mug, still trying to read over the rim. everything about her seemed... perfect.

she looked up from her book— eyes scanning the cafe, slow and deliberate, almost in slow motion. every movement calculated and precise.

her gaze cut through the air, locking onto him.

and shermar froze. he couldn't move, couldn't blink. his breath stalled in his chest, heartbeat stuttering. the need to exhale choked him but he couldn't break the connection.

the cafe faded into the background, their shared breaths loud in his ears. her eyes were deep and searching, pinning him down, leaving him bare and exposed. she didn't smile, expression unreadable. it made his skin prickle with anticipation and dread. he couldn't tell if she was curious or suspicious, but the intensity of her gaze burned through him.

beneath his acne studios mask and north face beanie, shermar's identity was well hidden, but that did little to calm him. he wasn't just any stranger sitting in the back of a cafe. if she knew who he really was...

she tilted her head slightly, as if assessing him, and after a moment, a ghostly smile pulled at her lips.

a lump formed in his throat as they stared at each other. there was a magnetism in the way she watched him, her eyes whirlpools pulling him in, dragging him under, suffocating him with the sheer weight of her presence.

her lips parted, just slightly, like she was about to speak. but she didn't. instead, her gaze lingered, heavy and intentional, as if she was peeling back layers of him with each passing second.