Stay With Me

Chapter 1: Memory Lane

Bathing, Danielle remembered that in a week, it'll be their first anniversary already.

"Time does fly" She told herself while letting herself lay and relax at her bathtub.

Closing her eyes, she remembered the day she met him. Danielle remembered it like it was just yesterday, when the truth is, it was already six years.

She was an independent woman, at the age of eighteen; she was already living alone for college. She moved in to a closer house to her university. She didn't mind. There was no one to tell her what to do; well of course there's her father, but she never really let him take over her.

She liked being by herself. She doesn't need to entertain anybody else since she doesn't have any friends. "No one to answer to", she told herself before.

Danielle met him at University of Sydney in Australia where he was born. He was also in college back then; two years older than her. She was a freshman and he was a junior. As the independent woman she was, she ignored him. She ignored everyone actually.

She hated everyone and it was all because of her mother. Her own mother turned her back on Danielle and his father, her mother's own family for someone else's family. She already told herself that she only has her dad and everyone else will leave her.

Jasper's eyes landed on her angelic face and liked her the moment he first saw her. It wasn't that hard to see her since her face stood out from the crowded first day. He was pretty popular at the university so he had connections. He knew her locker number and her schedule.

Every morning he would send coffee hanging outside Danielle's locker door and always had a note on the desk she was sitting at at every class. It said, "Don't you look gorgeous today? Wait, let me rephrase that, don't you look gorgeous every day?" and another one said "Hope you pass through with Mr. Smith's questions, the old man always asks the beautiful ones." And every note had a "-From Your Loving, Caring, Charming, Stunning, Coffee-sending, Note-giving, Secret Admirer" to end it.

Danielle would never accept anything from anyone; she didn't want any debt of gratitude towards anyone so she would leave the coffee at the cafeteria, letting anyone take it, and just dispose the note. But of course she found it sweet, yet annoying and arrogant. She appreciated the notes but then the memories of her mother came rushing back to her, she scarred her. So she would just throw it away.

One day, she didn't find any coffee hanging on her locker door. She found it somewhat odd but she thought that maybe that "Loving, Caring, Charming, Stunning, Coffee-sending, Note-giving, Secret Admirer" of hers was already tired of all the things he was doing to her so he finally stopped. She took her books, everything she needed for her first class and went to the designated room her said class was.

As she was walking through the halls, everyone had their eyes on her. Everyone was staring. She didn't feel insecure or affected at all since she was a carefree woman. When she got to the room, it was completely empty. No one was there. No bags, no papers, and no professor. She thought that maybe the people were just late so she took a seat to the desk she was always seated and set her things.

Little did she know, it was set-up. Jasper somehow convinced everyone and even the professor to leave the classroom empty when she came and let him introduce himself to her formally since he noticed that she was a formal woman.

He entered the room, coffee in hand, with the flashiest smile he could manage and walked towards her. He was nervous. It was the first time he would actually talk to her in person. He was confident of course, with the money, the fame, the fortune, the looks, and everything else on his side, he was always confident. But this time it was different, it is the girl he liked he would talk to for the first time ever.