Consequences of Attraction

10

𝙰𝚌𝚎

Monday mornings were a joke, right? I mean, it was almost too easy to find humor in the chaos of the day. Case in point: running into Kassandra Gates, a storm in motion, bolting across campus like the world was ending in thirty seconds. She was late and I could practically feel her frustration radiating off her before she even noticed me.

I turned the corner, hands in my pockets, just in time to see her barreling toward me, head down, focused like she had blinders on. Honestly, I could've moved out of the way, but where's the fun in that?

She crashed into me with all the grace of a hurricane. Her bag slipped from her shoulder, papers flying everywhere. I chuckled under my breath. Classic Kassandra.

"Whoa, slow down there!" I said, crouching down to help her gather her things. Her expression when she realized it was me? Priceless. If looks could kill, I'd have been a dead man on the spot.

Of course, she wasn't thrilled. "Of course," she muttered, not even trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"Yeah, nice to see you too," I thought to myself. But I wasn't gonna let that get under my skin. She could huff and puff all she wanted; I was too amused watching her scramble to get back on track to care.

"In a rush?" I asked, flipping one of her notebooks closed and handing it to her.

"Obviously," she snapped back. Her eyes darted to her phone, and I knew exactly what was going through her head. She had somewhere to be, and apparently, I was messing with her timeline.

"Thanks for making me lose another thirty seconds."

Thirty seconds. Yeah, she was wound up, alright. I smirked. "You know, if you slowed down a little, maybe you wouldn't run into people."

"If people didn't stand in the middle of the path, maybe I wouldn't run into them," she shot back, standing and adjusting her bag. I couldn't help but laugh. Kassandra Gates, always ready with a comeback.

"Touché," I admitted. As much as I loved messing with her, I couldn't argue with that. I stood up and fell into step beside her, curiosity getting the better of me. "But seriously, you look like you're about to sprint the marathon. Where are you headed in such a rush?"

"My poetry class," she replied quickly, clearly trying to end the conversation. "Which I am now late for."

Poetry. Now that was interesting. I raised an eyebrow. "Dr. Marshall's class?"

She stopped for a second, clearly surprised. "Yeah, how do you—"

"I'm in that class too," I said, slipping my hands back into my pockets. I enjoyed the brief flicker of surprise on her face. I was in her class, and she hadn't even noticed? Typical Kassandra. "Guess you didn't notice me sitting in the back, huh?"

"Of course not," she muttered, rolling her eyes. The best part? I knew she was more annoyed with herself than with me.

She glanced at her phone again. Time was ticking, and I could tell she was ready to ditch me at any second. But I wasn't going to make it that easy. I leaned in, just enough to see her start to fidget. "Why are you always in such a hurry, Kassandra? Ever think about slowing down, enjoying the moment?"

She scoffed. "Enjoying the moment is not going to help me pass this class."

"Maybe not," I said, matching her pace effortlessly, "but life isn't just about getting from point A to point B. Sometimes you need to stop and appreciate the scenery."

She sped up, as if that would shake me off. "Yeah, well, I'll appreciate the scenery after I graduate."

I laughed softly. Kassandra was so predictable, always two steps ahead of herself. "You're wound up tighter than a clock, you know that?"