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Chapter 1: First Gazes

Every moment in life leads up to something, some grand event that will take place and explain all the time it took to get there.

Somehow, my moments led me to him.

//

January 14

The sun was cascading down through his hair, making it golden - making him golden. He was the only warm thing here in this bland concrete wasteland. It made me feel like winter, and I was suddenly afraid his sun would melt me into a puddle on the sidewalk. It was the type of day that allowed only a small fraction of sunshine to creep down from the clouds, showering the streets in random bursts of light. The air, however, was bitterly cold.

The city floor was covered in soft white flakes, though the streets were still filled with bustling people, snow not stopping life for them. Skyscrapers rose up ominously on either sides of the road like the grey walls of a jail cell, towering over the crowds and trapping them inside. Horns and sirens were blaring in the background, the slush of wet snow making sounds like rain as people sped through it in their cars and on their feet. The constant roar of all the people was usually deafening, but as soon as I laid eyes on him, all of it faded away to a quiet hum. 

I was so captivated by the way he held himself, from the curve of his neck down to the arch of his back. He had his golden blonde hair placed carelessly to the side, and his crystal clear baby blue eyes shone against the sun's reflection coming from the snow littering the streets. A light stubble formed over the angles and curves of the lower half of his face.

He was still young, but he had this rugged look to him. Snow sprinkled his figure and tangled in his long eyelashes, which were casting delicate shadows across his high cheekbones. Though, it was hard to say there was anything delicate about him. Every detail just screamed purpose, as if he had been meticulously carved out of stone, and his every feature had been carefully planned, then ruthlessly executed.

Puffs of breath were coming from his parted lips, creating temporary clouds around his face. He was dressed up in dark jeans and layered in a warm-looking, long black coat. A beanie was placed precariously over the top of his head, letting the front of his blonde hair come through, while trapping the back parts inside.

He made everything around him look colder and duller, including me. Which I was fine with. He just had this presence about him of warmth, despite the frigid weather. All of the sudden, his eyes darted up to meet mine, whatever he had been previously focusing on momentarily forgotten. I felt all of the breath in my lungs go out in a whoosh the moment his gaze landed on me. I didn't have enough strength to find it in me to be embarrassed at being caught staring.

His eyes were pools of blue I could physically get lost and drown in. I was immediately frozen to the spot, knowledge of how to move forgotten.

I blinked.

He blinked.

We both just stared at each other from across the street, a sea of meaningless faces brushing past us without a second thought. It was as if everyone else was in fast-forward, and we were stuck in slow-motion. I didn't move. He didn't move. I knew that sooner or later I was going to have to get my senses together and get to class, I didn't want to be late, but right then I couldn't have cared less about school. 

It seemed absolutely ridiculous how much this boy - I couldn't really call him a boy, but man seemed inappropriate - was affecting me. I didn't even know him name!

But my God I wanted to.

He was the first to break eye contact, looking left as the sign changed color and the white figure that said you could safely walk across the road appeared on the screen.  Immediately, air rushed back into my lungs as I scrambled to get my thoughts together, slightly turning my figure away from where he stood. My mind was racing a million miles a minute, my eyes flickering back and forth without actually looking at anything in particular.