Love At First Sight

“Let her go,” the boy repeated assertively, showing no sign of fear. Serena wasn’t able to comprehend how this boy was not afraid of Xander’s intimidating appearance. 

Xander actually listened and released Serena to make his way toward the boy who just had dared to threaten him. Blood drained down Serena’s face as Xander’s intention became clear with each stride. He was going to hurt him. 

But before she could say anything, both the boys were already in each other’s faces, staring one other down. Their unyielding confrontation sent tension crackling in the air. Serena swallowed, expecting worse. 

“Do we have a problem?” Xavier ground out, not happy with the interruption.   

“You tell me,” the boy held his head high and chin up. Not intimidated at all. He wasn’t being cocky, just fearless which Serena wasn’t sure if it was a good thing. He might be taller than Xavier, but Xavier was definitely more muscular than him.  

“You are trying to get a beating, ain’t you, Four eyes?” Xavier took a threatening step towards him and spat menacingly, flexing his fists. 

“Wanna find out?” the boy wearing baggy clothes dared Xander. Serena was mighty impressed by his attitude. It was so hot but at the same time, she couldn’t help but worry about his well-being. He will be done if Xander takes him up on his proposal.     

Xander glowered up at him, shooting fire through his furious eyes. Tension thickened the air, making it difficult to breathe. 

“You will regret it,” Xander gritted out eventually before getting back on his motorcycle and leaving. Serena frowned in confusion. She had expected him to go ballistic on the stranger. To at least beat him bloody.             

His minions took off after him. The stranger sent them a bored look before shifting his gaze over to her. Serena crouched and started picking up her books. He walked over and lowered to help her collect her books. 

“Thank you,” Serena said, glancing up. With his sleek midnight hair falling short of his eyes, he resembled some mysterious handsome character from an anime. But it was his jade-green eyes that prompted a storm in her heart. They washed over her like sea waves, dazzled her like the sun. She decided they were the most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen. She felt a strange unease in her heart. It wasn’t bad, just something she had never experienced before. He smiled, causing more trouble to her poor heart. She clutched her books tightly against her chest, afraid her heart would burst out any moment now. 

“No worries,” he met her gaze and handed off books to her. Her heart skipped a beat every time he locked eyes with her. She looked down and gnawed at her lower lip shyly. What was happening to her? 

“ You….Xander is..is a da..dangerous guy. You shouldn’t have th..threatened him,” Serena stuttered. She cursed inwardly. Why God hate her so much? This was so embarrassing. She had this condition- she stutters whenever her emotions gear into overdrive.  

“He will not come after me if he knows what is good for him,” he told her, ignoring her stutters. Serena smiled, also grateful that he ignored her stutter. It’s difficult to explain to others about her stutters. Some of her friends had even called her an attention seeker for her stuttering even after she had explained to them it was involuntary. Why would anyone stutter willingly?

This stranger completely enchanted her. He had the appearance of a nerd- baggy clothes, glasses, and unstyled hair. But still, something about him was insanely attractive. Was it his unwavering confidence? Or his eyes that could drown anyone in them. Or his smile that can put even the sun to shame. 

“Ne..never saw you here before. A..are you new?” she asked, very curious. She would have remembered this face if she had seen it before. 

“Yeah,” he answered, rising. Serena had to crane her neck to keep looking at his face. He was way taller than her. She reached up only to his mid-chest. She felt like a dwarf in front of him. 

“I got transferred here. Senior,” he added, casually scanning the crowd before them.

                  

“Ohh..I..I  am ss..senior too. So…do you have a f..friend here or something?” she enquired, wanting to know more about him. Usually, Serena was good at making conversation, but with this guy, she was having a hard time. This nerd was making her stutter like nobody’s business. 

“No, I don’t,” he deadpanned as they marched together towards the building. A smile grew on her lips. Creep alert.  

“I..I can show you around,” she looked over and offered. 

“Will you?” he asked, smiling. Her heart did a backflip and her cheeks flushed. Why the hell was she blushing? 

“Consider it as my way of thanking you,” she looked away and answered. Her stutter had improved now but the stutter of her heart was still on. 

So as it turned out, they had their first class together. The teacher asked him to give his introduction. No one really gave this nerd much attention. And boy she was glad for it. Serena had alrady saved a spot for him beside her and he took it but not before murmuring a thank you—well-mannered check. 

After their first class, she showed him the canteen and to his next class. She left but not before telling him to meet her at the cafeteria after the class. He nodded and walked into his class. Serena smiled at his retreating back. Her eyes turned wide in realization when she caught herself smiling like an idiot. She glanced around nervously. Did anyone see her? Thankfully, the students were lost in their own world to pay her mind. She sighed in relief. The fuck was wrong with her. Shaking her head in disbelief, she turned to get to her own class.   

“Hi,” she set her books on the desk and plopped down beside Ayleen. The girl sent her a flat look. 

“Assignment?” she asked in a monotone. Serena sighed and pushed the assignment her way. Ayleen started copying her assignment while she leaned back on her bench, daydreaming about a certain guy. 

“Do you know we have a new student in our grade?” Serena started off.

“So he is the reason for your smile” Ayleen concluded as though she had been wondering it for long. She was taken aback by her sudden remark. She felt her cheeks warming up. Was she being that obvious?

“What’s his name?” Ayleen asked. It is then it clicked Serena. She was so lost in him that she didn't hear anything that came out of his mouth when he was introducing himself.  

“Shit. I forgot to ask his name,” Serena realized. Ayleen smirked. 

“Totally whipped,” she murmured under her breath but Serena heard her anyway. She snatched off her copy and told her to do it herself.