STARDUST | ONGOING

00 | prologue

✧

Z E R O

take me back to the night we met

—

P L A Y L I S T

river // leon bridges

the night we met // lord huron

the wonder of you // the villagers

hush hush baby // lxandra

love // lana del rey

—

They had met on her first day at Columbia. She, a naive, inexperienced freshman, and aspiring musical artist. He, on the other hand, was a junior, majoring in Studio Art.

She was late to class, having suffered through the drawbacks of the typical intense New York City traffic. She bolted past the campus buildings, coming to a halt every once in a while to ask for directions from someone nearby.

Her heavy bag weighed down on her like a sack of rocks. Why did I have to bring so many things? she scolded herself. She overpacked as always, having worried about not being properly prepared. She was neat like that. She was meticulous with just about everything, but especially with her music.

Music was something that had always been near and dear to her heart, as the majority of her best memories of her mother included these wonderful harmonious sounds, mostly coming from the piano, which her mother played to perfection.

In a way, she felt like she owed it to her memory. She wanted her mother to be proud of the musician she had become, albeit an amateur one.

She was passionate. So very passionate. She'd practice endlessly, from first light till the sun finally went down. She never caved in to the immense pressure of the music industry. She liked to believe she was Her father never really understood it, but supported her nonetheless.

Let's go. Move it, she commanded herself, rushing past the mass of students strolling on the grounds. She pushed past some of them in desperation, muttering quick apologies, then continuing her journey towards the Arts building.

And then there she was, stood panting and trying to catch her breath, while glancing at the large grandiose structure towering over her, casting vast shadows over her. This was it. This was the beginning of another chapter.

She took a deep breath, allowing herself just this one little moment to take it all it. The crisp Autumn breeze. The buzz of first-day-of-the-semester excitement still lingering in the air. Her dream school since she was a small child right before her eyes.

It was beyond anything she could have ever imagined. A plethora of emotions swept all over her, taking over her senses. She felt elated. Slightly intimidated. Ready.

She took off once again,  complete with a firm march and resolute expression, towards the large front doors welcoming her to her new life at Columbia.

She swerved right in the hallway, causing her to collide with him. It all happened in a flash, but she felt everything in slow motion.

He was hauling buckets of paint and paint supplies, bulking under the pressure. The moment she rammed into him, the paint from his buckets splashed all over her, and he slipped on his step. Her clothes were tainted with streaks of red and blue and green and purple, her hair soaked in white.