"Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatt! I'm hoome!" The boisterous voice of Alfred F. Jones woke Matthew from his day dream, startling him more than he would have liked.

"Hello, Alfred," he stated monotonously, currently in a disapproving state of his brother's rather loud nature.

"Bro, there's a new chick moving in on our floor and she is hot. Come check this out."

Matthew rolled his eyes but complied, deciding not to disobey his twin. It was much easier that way. He followed Alfred into the hall, where they spotted a young woman struggling with her bags. Matthew turned quickly when he heard Alfred's cell phone ring, and Alfred abruptly slapped him on the back and slammed their apartment door shut, locking the poor shy blonde out. Matthew whimpered slightly as he laid eyes on the female.

Her hair was very long; tied up into a high ponytail it reached her elbows easily, and it was a light shade of lilac. Her eyes were wide, a light caramel and adorned with extensive eye makeup, and her tongue was pinched between her teeth in a hard look of struggling concentration. She dressed like those pastel bloggers Matthew had seen online. In fact, she looked like she was a blogger. Alfred was right; she was very attractive. The length of her pink dress didn't take attention away from that fact. Matthew decided to stop staring and take action. He cleared his throat, and the girl's eyes flicked up to meet his in surprise. Matthew had to catch his breath.

"E-excuse me, do you need help?" Damn, he had tried so hard not to stutter.

"Oh gee, I hate to ask it of you, but yes please!" Matthew hurried over to grab a few of her bags. Her voice was high and lilting, not too soft but not too loud.

"Gosh, thank you so much, I'll make some tea when we finish, this is the last of the boxes anyway… I was determined to make it one trip, I guess."

She giggled and Matthew couldn't help but smile. Her laugh was captivating. He entered the apartment and asked where he should put the bags, and she simply waved her hand and said "wherever" before entering the kitchen to make tea. She remerged moments later.

"How rude of me! I never asked you what you would like, um…" she trailed off.

"Matthew Williams. And tea is fine, thank you."

"Phew! Excuse me. It's been quite an eventful couple of weeks. I'm Ophelia Ulani, but you can call me Lia."

The kettle began to whistle, and Lia promptly left the room. Matthew's head was spinning. He never imagined he'd have the courage to talk to such a lovely woman in his lifetime. She returned quickly, handing him a cup of tea and beckoning him to sit on one of the uncovered chairs.

"Thank you again Matthew, you saved my life there!"

"Ah, it's no problem, really…"

"So how long have you lived here?"

"Um, a few years. My brother Alfred and I moved in after college. Where did you move from, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I just came here from Luxembourg, actually, it's a long story…"

Matthew and Lia talked for a few hours before they realized the time. He learned that she was a journalist going to classes for creative writing at Ottawa U. She was a part-time barista at a local cafe, and she wrote novels and articles on a professional online blog in her spare time. She lead a busy life, but she enjoyed her work. Matthew had to go to dinner with his brother and parents, so he said his goodbyes and left. As he was walking down the hallway, he heard Lia's voice call after him.

"Hey, Matthew! We should definitely hang out some more! I'd like to get to know you!" Matthew grinned at her and waved.

"Yeah, for sure we will. See you later, Lia!" Matthew turned to look into his apartment to see a grinning Alfred raising an eyebrow.

"I'd like to get to know you? Damn Matt, laying down the moves, huh?"

"S-shut up, it's not like that." Matthew pushed passed his laughing twin, his face a deep shade of red.

As he fell asleep that night, he thought of Lia's genuine smile, her tinkling laugh and lilting voice, her tendency to jump from subject to subject and speak so quickly he could barely understand her. He thought of her light colored style and extremely long hair in that strange but lovely lavender shade. He thought about the feeling he got when he saw her, when they made eye contact or when she spoke, or when he felt like he could open up without being forgotten or overlooked. He thought about all of this and drifted off knowing that he had for the first time in his life met someone he cared for more than anything else.

He had fallen in love with Ophelia Ulani.