DARK CHEMISTRY
The moment the professor dismissed the class, Lizzie's breath hitched.
Students packed their bags. Chairs scraped the floor. Everyone filed out chatting loudly…
But Lizzie sat frozen.
Her hands trembled as she gathered her notebook.
Her legs felt like air.
Her heartbeat felt too loud in her ears.
When she finally stepped outside, the hallway was almost empty.
He was waiting.
Daniel stood at the end of the corridor, leaning against the doorway of the quiet room—a small study room barely used by anyone. His black coat framed him like a shadow, his hair slightly messy, his eyes lowered and burning.
As soon as she walked toward him, he straightened.
He didn't speak.
He just opened the quiet room door and stepped aside for her.
Lizzie swallowed hard and entered.
The room was dim, silent, only one long table and a window with soft sunlight spilling in.
Daniel closed the door behind them with a click.
Lizzie flinched at the sound.
He didn't move for a moment.
He just stared at her.
Slowly. Thoroughly. Like he had been waiting hours just to look at her properly.
"You came," he murmured.
She nodded timidly.
"You even ran."
His voice softened.
"I saw you running down the stairs."
Her face flushed hot.
"I— I didn't run…"
"You did."
He took one step toward her.
"And I liked it."
Lizzie's breath caught.
Daniel walked slowly, deliberately closing the distance until her back touched the table.
He didn't touch her—
not yet—
but he leaned in just enough for his shadow to swallow hers.
"Two years," he whispered, eyes searching every inch of her face.
"I kept dreaming of this."
Lizzie stared at the floor. "I… didn't think you'd… want—"
He immediately tilted her chin up with one finger.
"Don't say that."
Her breath trembled.
"You think I crossed an entire continent," he said quietly, "just to teach chemistry?"
Her heartbeat stopped.
"I came because of you."
Lizzie's lips parted helplessly.
"And seeing you in this college—"
He exhaled shakily.
"—walking into my lab like some lost angel… I almost forgot how to breathe."
Lizzie felt her knees weaken.
Daniel stepped even closer, his breath warm against her forehead.
"Tell me something," he whispered.
"Did you miss me?"
Lizzie nodded fast, her eyes glossy.
"Say it."
Her voice was barely a breath.
"…I missed you."
His jaw tensed.
His fingers slid from her chin to her cheek, brushing gently.
"And now," he murmured, "you're here.
Alone with me.
Again."
Lizzie's eyelashes fluttered.
"D-Daniel…"
He leaned in—
not kissing her, but letting his forehead rest against hers, his hand cupping her cheek with aching tenderness.
"You don't know," he breathed, "how long I've waited to hear your voice this close again."
Lizzie closed her eyes, overwhelmed.
A soft silence filled the quiet room—
just their breaths mingling—
and then he whispered:
"Look at me."
She opened her eyes slowly.
His gaze held hers like a promise, like a claim, like a storm finally finding its shore.
And in the smallest, gentlest voice she'd ever heard from him, he whispered:
"Lizzie…
I'm not letting you go again."
Daniel didn't even give her a full second to breathe.
The moment her eyes lifted to his, something in him snapped—softly, silently, like a thread finally giving way after being pulled too tight for too long.
He cupped her face with both hands.
"Come here," he whispered—
and then his mouth was on hers.
The kiss wasn't rough.
Wasn't rushed.
It was hungry—
soft but desperate,
like he'd starved for two years
and could finally taste her again.
Lizzie gasped into the kiss, her hands flying up to his coat, clutching the fabric. Her knees nearly buckled, and Daniel immediately slid an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him, holding her steady.
Her back pressed into the edge of the table as he deepened the kiss, lips moving slow, deliberate, savoring her. Every breath she took seemed to get stolen by him.
He kissed her like she was a memory he finally got to rewrite.
Lizzie whimpered softly against his mouth.
That tiny sound—
it destroyed him.
He tilted her head gently and kissed her again, slower this time, his thumb brushing her cheekbone with heart-aching tenderness.
When he finally pulled back, just a breath's distance apart, their foreheads touched again. They were both breathing hard.
Daniel's voice came out low, shaking slightly.
"I knew it," he whispered.
"You still taste like trouble."
Lizzie's cheeks burned. "D-Daniel…"
He kissed the corner of her mouth.
Then her lower lip.
Then her jaw—just once, soft and warm—before returning to look into her eyes.
"I told you," he murmured, brushing her hair back.
"I'm not letting you disappear from me again."