Love Never Felt So Good

Tina sat on the bottom of the concrete stairs that led into the dorms, the building behind her dark and gloomy; it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Normally they'd be jam packed with students rushing up and down the corridors trying to get to their dorms, especially on a day like this. It was chilly outside, showing signs of a heavy downpour later that day. But today... today was a special day. Today was Valentine's Day, and almost every student was out and about, spending the night out with their significant others or even just hanging out with their friends. No one wanted to spend Valentine's alone, yet it looked like Tina'd be doing just that: trapped in her bedroom, eating from a cheap, insignificant, heart-shaped box of chocolates. She had arranged a date with her boyfriend, Achilles, and he was supposed to have picked her up at five; yet it was six and there was no sign of him.

She buried her head in her hands, sobbing quietly. It was exactly six PM; he was one hour late, and at that point, she knew he wasn't coming. It was the exact time she should've been at the movie theater, eating popcorn with Achilles and enjoying her Valentine's Day. But, like always, he had stood her up, leaving her stranded on the sidewalk. He was probably busy, making another girl's day the best ever.

Newt happened to be walking to his dorm room when he heard a soft whimper, and looked up from his book. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Tina sitting on the steps, mascara dripping down her cheeks. She quickly noticed him standing there and rushed to hide her face, wiping the black stains off her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry, um, you can go," she muttered, shifting to move off the bottom stair.

He looked at her sympathetically and shoved his book into his bag. "No, no. Sit. I'm sorry," he apologised, moving closer to her to sit down on the staircase.

"I know you don't know me very well, but you can tell me what's wrong, Tina."

At first she hesitated, worrying her bottom lip; should she trust this unusually winsome man that seemed to know her? Normally she'd refuse—he just appeared out of nowhere, after all—but she was too devastated to care. She quickly took a hold of him, sobbing into his white dress shirt. He gasped quietly, taken by surprise that she'd confide in him—he knew how reserved she could be at times.

"There, there," he murmured, softly caressing her hair as she cried and clutched the delicate material in her hands. "What happened?"

After a few minutes of sobbing nonstop, she regained her composure and quickly wiped away her tears. "Sorry about your shirt—um."

"Newt," he interjected, looking at her with such patience. "Don't worry about it."

She sniffled softly, her bottom lip quivering. "Achilles stood me up again. I thought it'd be different this time," she whimpered, playing with her phone in her hands. "It's silly of me to cry. I should've left him a long time ago. He's done this to me so many times, and now it's becoming routine."

"I'm sorry, Tina. Achilles is an asshole for leaving you like this," he sympathized, observing her outfit. She was extremely dressed up compared to the way she'd normally dress for class. She was wearing a flowy light pink dress with corscating diamond earrings and matching pink heels. Her hair was tied up into a sophisticated bun, loose curls framing her delicate face. She looked breathtaking—he didn't understand how a person could stand her up. "You're not silly, you're just a good person. You thought he'd change, become more involved in your relationship, yet he didn't. It's not silly, Tina. It shows your heart of gold."

She let out a watery laugh, a faint blush on her cheeks, followed by a shuddering gasp. "Really? Thank you, Newt. And yes, he is the worst of assholes."

A little awkward light bulb lit up in his head and he blushed profusely. It was a little inappropriate for him to take advantage of her state of vulnerability, but he just wanted to see her smile again. Her bright, effervescent smile that made his days instantly better. Ever since the first day of college as a transfer student, she caught his attention, infatuated him some would say, yet he never had the confidence to ask her out. Especially since she was dating Achilles at that moment, but now the path was clear. He could finally treat her like she should've been treated in the first place. He wanted to love her, he wanted to be the reason that she giggled adorably—he wanted to make her happy. That's all he wanted.