She had been watching him for a few weeks. Not stalking, per se, just stealing glances when he wasn't looking. Sadly for her, he never seemed to be looking, but that did give her the opportunity to admire him without fearing he would notice.
Through her eyes, the mysterious blonde was perfection, a gift from God to the poor, unfortunate souls stuck on the barren rock that is Earth. She fantasized getting lost in his golden eye, and being so trusted by him that he would reveal what lies under the eye patch on the other side. She felt like she was the only one who even knew he wore one, the dark fabric always perfectly covered by his side swept bangs.
They only had one class together, and he rarely spoke, but when he did, she hung on his every word. Even Greek mythology became interesting when it came from his lips. Oh, his lips. Could they be anything but plush looking, kissable? And his voice was… Well, to be honest, his voice probably annoyed a lot of people. It was a bit high pitched and nasally. Morgan Freeman he was not, but still, she loved it.
Mabel had never been shy in her life, but a string of unfortunate relationships left her a bit more cautious about charging in headfirst. She knew that the end of the quarter was fast approaching, and if she didn't make a move soon, at least introducing herself, she might not get another chance, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, the memory of her last rejection still stinging the back of her mind. And so she took the seat she always did, second row on the far right, and watched him, far left in the front, until the bell rang.
The night had been long and exhausting. It started at ten, when her roommate asked, "so, what did you write your paper about for design class tomorrow?" which prompted a realization that she did, indeed, have homework that evening. Nine hours and three energy drinks later, Mabel had a fifteen page paper of questionable quality, but one that would probably net her a passing grade. Unfortunately, now she was running late to World Mythology. The class she shared with him. She didn't really care that she would be late, but she desperately hoped not to make a scene.
Just as the bell rang, she ran in the door, a bit out of breath from her sprint over. When she caught her breath, she quietly started to make her way towards her usual seat. A few paces away, she froze.
What, what the hell? Why the hell? Why today, and why…?
She stared in disbelief at the man sitting in her chair. Why her seat? Why today, of all days? The shock was written all over her face as she tried to pull herself together.
Looking around for another place to sit, she saw that most of the chairs were already taken.
Well, it seems that's my only option. She quietly paced over to the front row, on the far left, and took a seat.
Her mind wandered during the lecture, and while this class had always been a bit of a pain to focus in, today it was downright impossible. Had the man caught her staring? Why would he decide to sit somewhere different, for the first time all semester? Why her chair? She mulled this over until the bell rang, and continued to ponder as she absentmindedly gathered her things up to leave. As she turned to start walking out, she tripped over someone's foot and went flailing forward. She caught herself, but felt embarrassed nonetheless.
"Sorry. Are you oka-" She realized who it was and her voice stopped working for a moment. He chuckled.
"I'm absolutely perfect. Although, I am a bit worried about you."
"Oh," she giggled, "I'm fine. Thanks… uh, for asking!"
He smirked as she blushed a light pink. "So, I don't think we've ever been properly introduced. I'm Bill." He extended a hand toward her.
"Mabel! Nice to meet you!" She grabbed his hand to shake and it was as if electricity shot through it. She felt her heart beating loud in her chest.
"Something the matter? You look a bit… stressed."
"Oh no, nothing at all! I'm just a bit, er, tired. Big paper due today."
"Heh, right. That's all. Well, anyway, I'm dreadfully sorry to steal your seat."
"Psshh, it wasn't really my seat, anyone can sit wherever they want, right?"
"Of course, of course. But you've been sitting there all quarter, haven't you?"
"Have I? Haha, I guess I have. Who knew?" She looked off into the distance, blush growing darker. He kept smirking, an evil glint forming in his eye.
"Yes, indeed you have. Well, I just had to see the view for myself."
"View? I don't… What?"
"Well," he walked over to the chair, "from right about here, you have a really nice view of that chair, right there." He pointed at the seat Mabel was still standing next to.
Her face grew incredibly hot and she looked around desperately for an escape. Shit, abort, abort! She ripped her phone out of her pocket and pretended to get a call.
"Oh, hey roommie! Just a second!" She grabbed her bag and all but sprinted towards the exit. "SorryBillmyroommateiscallinggottago!" she blurted out as she passed him. "Uh, nice to meet you!" she called from just outside the door.
He looked back towards the exit and chuckled. If only she knew… He pulled out a pocket watch from the inside of his jacket and clicked it open. 9:12 am. Well, I'd better hurry. After all, I have a date, and I'd hate to make a bad second impression.