I couldn't help it—I drew attention wherever I went. Not on purpose or anything, it just kinda happened. Guess being handsome was both a blessing and a curse. The girls stared like I was some kind of celebrity, giggling behind their hands. If only they knew they weren't my type.
Not that I cared. I had one mission now: find the Vice President. I didn't know what class he was in, what his major was—hell, I barely had his name. But I needed something. A name, a number, maybe a glimpse of him on my bed—
Whoa. Pause. Not the time for those thoughts.
I shook my head, trying to clear the image out. Focus, Isaaq.
I didn't even see the person coming. One second I was lost in thought, daydreaming about the Vice President—his name, his class, maybe even what he'd sound like saying my name—and the next, I slammed right into someone.
My head hit the floor, and I winced. "Shit…"
"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" a voice asked, concerned.
I blinked, still dazed, and reached up to grab the hand offered to me. As I stood, I muttered, "No worries. My fault."
I dusted myself off, finally looking at the person I bumped into—and nearly choked.
Wait… no way.
It was him. The Vice President. Up close, he looked even better—his features softer, yet sharp where it counted. I'd been drooling over this guy from a distance, and now he was right in front of me like a damn fever dream.
"Are you okay?" he asked again, sounding genuinely worried. "You're not hurt or anything, right?"
I opened my mouth, then immediately forgot how to speak. "I—uh…"
"Aiden, hurry up!" a girl called from farther down the hall.
Another girl gently tugged at his arm, and he glanced back at them before turning to me.
"I'm coming!" he replied, then gave me the friendliest little wave before jogging off to join them.
I stood there like a complete idiot, frozen in place. Then it hit me.
"Aiden," I whispered.
I finally had his name.
_ _ _
The whole damn day, I couldn't stop smiling. Like some happy golden retriever wagging his tail for no reason. But I had a reason—Aiden. I finally had a name to the face that had hijacked my brain since the stupid orientation.
Aiden.
It still wasn't enough, though. A name's a start, but I needed more. What class he was in, his major, hell—even his phone number. From where we bumped into each other earlier, I figured he was in the science department. That sucked for me. I was business admin, which meant we were basically on opposite sides of the school.
I got a little bummed thinking about it. Maybe I'd see him during recess or general studies… if the universe was kind. Probably not.
By the end of the school day, I'd hyped myself up to do some Aiden-hunting. You know, just subtle recon—find out his schedule, see where he hangs out. Nothing creepy. But I ended up ditching that plan and headed to my car instead, thinking I'd just try again another day.
That's when I saw him.
From the corner of my eye—Aiden. Walking down the sidewalk like a broken toy. His uniform was a mess, he was staggering a little, and he kept his head down. That bright, cheerful vibe from this morning? Gone.
I slammed the brakes and parked so fast I almost dented someone's bumper. I didn't even think—just ran over to him. Grabbed him by the shoulders, probably a bit too hard.
He looked up, blinking. "Oh. It's you."
My stomach twisted. His face was bruised, nose bleeding. "Who did this? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It's okay," he mumbled.
I squeezed his shoulders tighter. "You are not okay."
He winced. "You're hurting me."
"Shit—sorry," I said, pulling back immediately. "Let me take you home."
He hesitated. Tried to come up with some excuse. But then… he just sighed and gave up. He slid into the passenger seat without another word.
I won't lie—my heart was doing flips. Not the best circumstance, but damn, I had Aiden in my car. With me. Alone.
Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly romantic. The silence between us was unbearable.
I cleared my throat. "So, uh… you wanna talk about what happened?"
"No." Quick, sharp.
"Right. Got it. But maybe you should go to a hospital?"
"No thanks. I've got a first aid kit at home."
I glanced at him. "Do you… need help with that?"
"I'm good."
Wow. Brick wall much?
Still, I couldn't stop glancing at him. He looked so small sitting there, shoulders hunched.
Then out of nowhere, he said, "Why are you being nice to me?"
That caught me off guard. "What?"
"You're being… nice. Why?"
I blinked. "Well, you helped me out first, so I figured—"
He interrupted. "I bumped into you, remember?"
"Yeah, well… it could've been my fault too. And you were still nice about it."
"Oh."
That was it. Just "oh."
"You're not much of a talker, huh?" I blurted out without thinking.
He turned slightly toward me. "Only when it's necessary." He gave me a faint smile.
I nearly choked on my own tongue. God, that smile.
"Shit, I'm such an idiot," I muttered under my breath.
I tried again. "What about your parents? Are they going to be okay with-?"
Again, he cut me off. "I live alone."
"Oh." Beat. "I'm guessing you don't wanna talk about that either, huh?"
He shook his head.
I sighed. "Yeah. Got it."
How the hell was I supposed to seduce this guy if I couldn't even hold a proper conversation with him? I might as well kiss all my hopes of getting him into my bed goodbye.
We pulled up to an apartment building. He opened the door to get out, then paused and turned to me.
"Hey… what's your name?"
I blinked. "Oh. I'm Isaaq. Isaaq Almasi."
He nodded. "I'm Aiden…" He said his last name—I barely heard it. I was too distracted by the fact that he smiled again, waved, and then walked into the building.
I sat there, watching the door close behind him.
Aiden.
Yeah. I was so screwed.