You Will Be Mine

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.