How The Bad Boy WORMED Into My Heart

Resident mystery, and all-round trouble maker – I never thought that would have been my type. And yet, ever since I learned of him, I could not get him out of my mind. His name was Ethan and there was something him that made me feel...things. It felt a bit like butterflies, and a bit like caterpillars, in my stomach. I don't understand. What was it about him that made my belly turn and my heart skip a beat? Maybe it was the way he slouched and leant against the walls, watching passers-by with dark eyes as deep as the Mariana Trench. Or perhaps, it was the way he obscured half of his pale face with a medical mask (Why? Who knows?)

Hell, it could even be the rumours. A murderer on the loose, some say. Just some weird delinquent, said others. A vampire, a minority theorized.

Perhaps, what attracted me the most was not the man – it was the mystery. And sometimes I wished I could just ask, just get to know him.

But me? Talk to him?

I can't.

I'm just plain ol' Natasha Lim – brown hair, brown eyes, and glasses almost as thick as the books I read. I'm just kidding about the last part – I don't read books that thin. Last year, I was the quiet transfer student who moved in from the neighbouring town on account of her single mother's job. This year, I'm just the quiet little girl who'd rather have her face stuck between the pages of a good novel than go out and party.

But then again, nobody from school had ever invited me to any type of extra-curricular social gathering.

And the only other friend I had was Judy. She was the type who would rather get abducted aliens than party. Specifically, aliens with huge whopping tentacles. She also had questionable taste in anime. We didn't have much in common, other than the fact that we were both the quiet ones in class.

Unless when we're put together, then she talked a lot. Kinda like how she's doing right now.

And now she was nudging me with her elbows.

"Nat? Natalie! Isn't that your guy?" Her gaze pointed to the dumpsters in the alleyway.

I followed her gaze. My eyes widened.

It was him! Ethan!

The fact that he was crouched in some alleyway by some garbage dumpsters was nothing to be surprised of. From what I knew of him, it was something he did often. Well, not always next to the garbage. Sometimes he hung out alone by the graveyards. Sometimes it's in the park. He seemed to enjoy loitering a lot. And for some reason, I found it endearing.

"W-wait, my guy?"

"Well yeah. You like him, right?" Judy replied.

"Not like that!"

"Mhmm?" A smug grin spread on her face. "You sure you don't like him like that?"

"Who him?"

"Yeah, Ethan. Duh."

Judy's voice must have gotten a tad too loud because Ethan's head lurched up, directing his stare from the ground to us. I grabbed my noisy friend's arm and dragged her away. As I look back I could have sworn Ethan rolled his eyes into the back of his head. Or maybe he was just rolling his eyes like a normal person and I was just seeing things.

-

The next time I encountered Ethan was in a place I would have never expected him to be – the local library.

Clichéd as it was, we bumped into each other. Books fell onto the floor, we both knelt down to retrieve our books and in the confusion, our hands touched. He did not seem to notice but I did. His hand was softer than I would have thought it would be. It was cold too, and dry. I gathered up my books and went to my usual seat.