Hope of it all

2. First encounter

Songs to play while reading this chapter:
•Pehli nazar mein
•Tumhe jo maine dekha

I was finally ready.

Plain white shirt, blue baggy jeans—simple but cute. Hair left open, makeup barely there. Just enough to look alive, not desperate.

The last thing I wanted was some pick me girl calling me a pick me. No thanks.

My books were packed, timetable printed, rules underlined, and a fresh list titled “Mistakes to Avoid This Year” tucked in my notebook.

Yeah… I was prepared.

Nervous, maybe. But ready.

At least, I hoped so.

45 minutes later,

After an uncomfy, soul-crushing ride on a packed public bus, I finally reached college.

I pushed through the crowd, clutching my precious little manual like my life depended on it.

I was scanning it for my first class when—bam!
I slammed into a wall.
No—a chest. A very muscular one.

The impact knocked me right to the ground.

He was wearing an oversized blue tee, and yeah, definitely my age.

Golden brown eyes stared down at me—half-judgy, half-amused.

Great. Day one and I’m already giving clumsy loser energy.

I scrambled up before the crowd noticed and saw my manual on the ground… drenched in coffee.

“What the fuck?!” I muttered, watching it drip like my dignity.

I freshened up and pulled on a loose blue t-shirt.

Nothing fancy—just something clean.

My bag hung low on my back, half-zipped, like always.

I grabbed a cup of coffee from the college cafeteria—
the only thing standing between me and a public meltdown.

As I walked through campus, minding my own damn business,
a girl suddenly crashed right into me and hit the ground.

Second-hand embarrassment? Through the roof.

"Are you oka—" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw her expression.

It was filled with pure horror, like someone just spilled ink on her entire future.

“What the fuck?!” she gasped, eyes locked on a soggy mess of papers.

"What? Were they important?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Her black doe eyes met mine, sharp as knives.

“Important?! I spent two hours making it!”

"Well, maybe you should watch where you're going," I shrugged.

“Asshole,” she muttered under her breath.

Yeah, I heard that.

I rolled my eyes. “Drama queen,” I said as I walked away.

Still… She’s cute.

Looks like appearances really are deceiving.

🎀

Hey guyss! So did you like it?
Thank you for reading!

Ps: A special thanks to my bestfriend/ co author who got me hyped up to publish this on wattpad.