Thelecture hall buzzed with chatter as students filed in, Voices echoing against the walls. Naomi slipped in quietly,as if afraid the sound of her footsteps might disturb anyone.
Her books were pressed tightly against her chest, and her head was bowed so low it almost seemed like she wanted to disappear.
No one turned. No one noticed.
Except him.
From the back row, his gaze locked onto her the second she stepped through the door.He didn't know her name. He didn't know where she came from. None of that mattered. The way she moved- timid, careful, almost fragile- was enough to catch him in a way no one else ever had.
Naomi chose a seat in the far corner, away from everyone, and lowered herself into the chair as if she were trying not to make a sound.
Her hands fumbled slightly as she arranged her pens and notebook, and he noticed the way she glanced nervously, as though checking to see if anyone was watching.
But he was.
He saw everything.
The professor began speaking, but his voice was just background noise.
His eyes never started from her. The curve of her fingers as she wrote, the soft fall of her hair that hid her face, the way her shoulders curled inward as though she were trying to make herself smaller- he memorized it all
She thought she could hide in the crowd. But not from him.
His chest tightened when she bit her lower lip in concentration, scribbling notes with shaky handwriting. She looked fragile, like a porcelain doll that could shatter with the slightest touch. And he wanted to touch. He wanted to be the only one allowed to.
When a student beside her stretched too far and bumped her desk, she startled, nearly dropping her pen. She whispered, "S-sorry," even though it wasn't her fault. Her voice was so soft he barely heard it over the lecture, yet it echoed in his head like a song.
So timid. So gentle. So easily overlooked.
And yet, not by him, Never by him.
He leaned back in his chair, lips curbing into the faintest, almost dangerous smile. She didn't know it yet, but from this very moment, something had changed. He would memorize her every movement, every smile, every frightened glance.
She belonged to him now.
He didn't need her permission. He didn't need her to look at him. From that first glance, he had already chosen.
Once he chose, he never let's go.
The lecture ended. Students rose noisily, gathering their bags. Naomi was the last to stand, moving carefully, clutching her books to her chest again. She waited until most of the room had emptied before slipping out, head still down, steps hurried.
He followed her with his eyes, watching until the door closed behind her.
A quiet chuckle slipped past his lips.
She thought she was invisible.
But she was wrong.
From that very first glance, she stopped being just another girl in the crowd.
She was his to watch.
His to follow.
His to keep.
And she would find out soon enough.