A/N: Made some edits. Here's the new chapter
Green eyes connected with brown.
He sat across from her, and she suddenly found it difficult to concentrate on her reading. Was he staring at her? She didn't dare chance another peak. Her stop was coming up soon anyways, and then she'd be on her merry way.
So why was a sweat forming on her brow? Why did she suddenly feel tense and shaky all over? Why was she thinking these things instead of concentrating on reading? She had a big paper due on this book in just over a week, and yet here she was, unable to concentrate on a single word.
She went back to her book, and took her pen out here and underlined her selected phrase. Next to the horizontal markings she wrote, crookedly with the shaking of the bus on the street, "the power of love cancels out all the world's hardship".
And then she began to think. Of herself and her place in the world at this very moment; waiting on the bus to get to her job at the state library while working on her final paper and trying her utmost hardest not to think of the boy with green eyes sitting opposite her. Damn. She needed to stay focused. She went back to her novel.
…madly in love after so many years of AND WHY was he still staring at her? She could feel his heavy gaze on her, and it made the nerves on the back of her flushed neck prickle.
She stole another glance.
He was listening to music with the kind of white earbuds that come with your iPhone. His dusky skin was a gorgeous mocha, and he had the brightest green eyes. The kind of green that one could only find in the natural world due to its inimitable color; just as the color of the sky—the true color of the vast sky—can never be replicated artificially. She tore her eyes away and stared deeply into her book. What had she just read? Where was she? What book even was this?
Out of her peripheral, she noticed him taking out his earbuds. She brought her book higher up to her face so she wouldn't focus on his movements. She was trying so hard to focus on her book, but she was so busy trying to tune the man out that he somehow was the only object of concentration in her conscious.
She saw him stand up. Perhaps this next one was his stop; that would make her reading easier for sure. She attempted to zero in on her reading, but distantly heard a smooth voice say, "Please, sit."
She set her book down. The gentleman was offering his seat to an elderly man with a walker. He looked both stunned and appreciative as he shuffled over a few paces and took a seat where the younger man had once been. "Thank you," she heard the old man say. "I've been on my feet too long for my back today."
She looked to her left. There was easily enough room for someone to sit down, but it would be a tight and slightly uncomfortable fit. She looked to her right. She could scoot over a little bit more to make room. She slid across the seat and gestured to the man that he could sit next to her. He looked down at her and offered a wide smile, "That's real nice of you."
She only smiled in response, and the man took a seat. She brought her book back up to her nose, but the only thing piercing her mind was the scent of the man to her left. It was a natural smell of dirt, with slight hints of spicy cinnamon and some tangy lemon. She noticed her head slowly leaning in just to grab more of his smell, but reason got the better of her, and she sat straighter up. She noticed the tingling sensation on the back of her neck again and knew the man was watching her. She had no choice, though; she resumed reading.
She must have stared at the text for 10 minutes, but it was no use! She couldn't concentrate on the text, and if she continued reading she would just have to go back and reread this part. Her focus was not happening with this book. She let out a sigh and shoved the book back into her bag.
"Don't like the book?"
Her ears perked up; she looked to her left. The man with bright green eyes was staring at her still and must've noticed her frustration with the novel. Despite herself, she offered the man a weak smile and shrugged.
"I'm afraid it's me I'm frustrated with. I just can't concentrate, but I need to finish it for a class."
"A class? Do you go to university around here?"
"I'm over at the University of the United Republic," she explained.
"What class is it for?" he inquired.
"'A Comparison of World Culture through Timeless Literature'," she quoted. "The workload is intense, but the material is so fascinating. I do wish the literature wasn't so 'timeless'. I'm really quite intrigued by history and historical literature. The majority of what we read, though, is for the purpose of discussing modern day society and the culture of different world countries. I'd prefer a bit more talk about the past in there, but what we do discuss is so profound and exceptional that it balances out, I suppose. The contemporary cultures of the world today are so diverse and eccentric, it almost feels like studying history! I mean, did you know the comparison of a Japanese geisha and a prostitute is so offensive and demeaning to the entire Japanese culture? I learned that while—" she cut herself off. He looked at her with concerned, not disinterested eyes. "I'm sorry. I, er, started rambling a bit there."
He chuckled. "No problem. I liked listening to you talk."
They both realized the peculiarity of that statement at the exact same moment, and a heated blush began to crawl across his cheeks.
"Uhh…" he reached over his shoulder to scratch his back. She guessed it must've been a nervous habit. "What book are you reading now?"
"One Hundred Years of Solitude," she explained. "Gabriel Gar—"
"Gabriel García Márquez?" he asked. "I love his work."
"You've read One Hundred Years of Solitude?" she asked. She had to admit; that surprised her.
"I haven't read that. To be honest, I haven't heard of it, but Love in the Time of Cholera is an all-time favorite of mine."
"I haven't read that one. What's it about?"
He smiled at her—a lopsided, toothy grin that warmed her from the inside. "Love at first sight."
A/N: Not sure where this will go, but please review and let me know if this is at all interesting. 2nd chapter soon to come.