Of Blue Eyes and Black Hair

Chapter 4: "Hey, What's Up It's Been a While!"

For the first time in life, Kayla was doing something for herself - studying (she had been an A-grade nerd her entire life and she loved to read, ravaging books on an hourly basis, irrespective of their category- academic or otherwise). Her Macroeconomics textbook lay open on her lap as she was busy jotting some notes. Yeah, yeah she knew classes hadn't started yet but doing something made her feel that things were in control. She liked to keep busy. 

All her life she had been living for others. Ballet classes (at which she failed anyways) and strict diet for Mom, guitar lessons for Ryan's band and now college where she was majoring in Economics to meet Dad's 'aspirations' and 'expectations' for the future of his money-minting company...not that she minded the last part though since she had no idea herself, of what she was going to do with her life and when Dad suggested college to study Economics further, it didn't seem that bad....So here she was. Getting into uni also wasn't as difficult as she'd anticipated, her teachers gave recommendations without much hesitation.

Her life, her past; these were things she didn't like to think much about, in general. Mostly because anything and everything you could find in a dramatic (very dramatic, cliched - difficult childhood, troubled teenage et cetera et cetera) teen movie was practically her biography. And of course, there had been no shortage of accidents and tragedies every now and then (which had absolutely no impact on her childhood whatsoever, right?!!!)

But... she was here now, in the present. A present with a stranger (and now her new roommate) called William Adams in it.

It's not like he was the first guy. Nope, Kayla wasn't new to this business but there was just something. Something different than earlier. Slightly different. Different like, driving someone else's car, eating your favourite ice-cream with alien toppings, or wearing your best friend's perfume. Familiar yet different.

Since she was a little kid, Kayla's choices and habits were always unique, set apart. Loving bacon flavoured ice cream, wearing flip flops to school, always keeping her hair tied up, putting earphones on even if no music was playing...you get the idea.

This streak of queer was subsequently reflected in her teenage.

The things that attracted her in a guy were not his 'popularity quotient' or how his 'hotness' was graded.

She was melted simply by the way his slim fingers drummed against the desk, the way he ran his hand through his black hair making it stand up on its ends like lightning had hit it, the way his electric blue eyes lit up like a lightsaber when he discussed football games, or the way he rubbed the back of his neck when he would be embarrassed, the way his brow crinkled when he struggled at a trig problem, the way he rolled up his sleeves...These things were what mattered to her, making her melt into an Olaf sized puddle.

Small things mattered.

***

William lay on his back, practising his breathing techniques. The angelic face of Kayla Princeton sleeping peacefully in her bed had been the first thing he'd seen after opening his eyes and that had not resulted well for him as his heart was hammering away in his chest like a cardiac patient's.

He had not forgotten his encounter with Kayla the day before, how he'd acted after practically causing a mini stampede in the corridor. William Adams was a an A-listed all rounder. He never got nervous (or socially handicapped, if put precisely), especially in front of fine specimen of the opposite gender. But then what had happened yesterday?

He had also not forgotten what a wonderful evening it had been, yesterday. Kayla's brown eyes tinged with hazel seemed to have put an indelible imprint on his mind. Her heart shaped face, her gentleness, her quirky, fun self....UGHH, Will. Stop. Why was he acting like a soppy thirteen year old hormone ridden kid now?