CHAPTER 1 | FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The first time Kori met the mysterious and intriguing stranger was in the most unexpected place.

Many may think they met at the park, under a rainy day. Or at a cafe shop, sharing the same table by accident. Or the classic one of bumping into a stranger and having all her stuff fall on the ground.

Needless to say that wasn't the case with how Kory first met Jason. She remembered the first time they locked eyes, just for a split minute before continuing on their own paths.

It was at the local library. Well, Kori's local library. After she moved from Gotham, she never relocated on the East Coast. She needed to stay as far away from that place as possible. What better way than to relocate to the West Coast, where the city of Angeles was.

She had found out she was pregnant after she settled in Los Angeles. It wasn't a doubt that her child was Dick's but she never felt overwhelmed or scared. On the contrary, she felt filled with joy. She was starting a new life with her baby and it was wonderful.

Her child. Not Dick's.

Her child only.

Kori lived a nice and quiet life. Her friends from the East Coast promised to travel to L.A to visit her every year, either for holidays or special occasions. They respected Kori's choice of never wanting to fly back to the East Coast. At first Kori lived in a flat but deciding when her bundle of joy would arrive, they would need space to move and be a child.

Needless to say, Kori wasn't neither rich nor poor. With her University degree, she had a stable job as a column writer for Vogue Magazine. That provided enough for her and her future child to live comfortably.

When Kori had saved enough money to purchase a house, without a second thought, she bought one and moved in, just in time for her final stage of her pregnancy.

Now regarding the mysterious stranger; who later she found out was Jason Todd.

The first time Kori locked eyes with Jason was back when she decided to attend the children's story time on Wednesday's mornings at her local library. She was rubbing her stomach gently as she listened to the librarian read a story to the group of small children. Kori had learned, in one of the parent workshops she attended, that reading and talking to one's baby in the womb was actually great development for the baby. So every Wednesday morning she attended story time with her unborn baby.

That day, after story time, Kori stayed for a bit and browsed through the classic novel section books when she heard a man talking in such a beautiful language.

Intrigued by the sound of the language Kori followed the man's voice to a small corner of the library and stood behind the tall row of bookshelves. There was a circle of grownups sitting on chairs, with the same book in their hands. At the center sat a young man, with black hair with a streak of white hair. He was reading the poem so gracefully as everyone else followed along.

Kori just stood there, admiring how the man read the book calmly and endearing. His eyes gazing over the words of the book before his eyes found hers and locked with them.

"Mariposa de sueño, te pareces a mi alma, y te pareces a la palabra melancolía." he read out calm, holding Kori's gaze with his. As his eyes held her's, Kori felt a burning feeling all over herself. His eyes were so beautiful. They were clear green, like she could get lost in a forest of pine trees. The way his eyes soothingly held her almost made Kori's weak knees make her fall. Yet what made Kori's heart ache was that behind his beautiful eyes they held so much pain hidden behind them. Before his eyes went back to the book, Kori felt a weird sensation in her chest at what just occurred. She shook her head furiously as she walked away from the reading corner.

"What in the world just happened." Kori whispered to herself before going into the restroom and cooling herself down. As she stared to herself in the mirror she draped a wet paper towel on her forehead, cooling her red blushed cheeks. "Oh X'hal, I probably looked like a stalker." Kori groaned dejectedly as she pictured the scene.

The poor suitor must've been freaked out by her just hiding behind the bookshelves staring at him. "Oh dear," Kori frowned as she shook her head in the lonely restroom. After a while she stepped out and went towards the corner to apologize to the young man. To Kori'a disappointment she found some members of the group had left while others were cleaning up.

However the young suitor was gone.

"Um, excuse me," Kori said, walking towards a young Latina woman. "Yes?" She replied with a smile. "Do you know who the man with the white streak was?" The woman's smile widened, "Of course! That was Peter. He usually comes here every Wednesday morning to read sonnets and poems by Pablo Neruda however today was his last day."

Kori's hopeful smile vanished and turned into a frown. "Oh why is that?"

The woman smiled sadly as she replied, "He just said it was time to move on from the past. Peter is a very reserved man. The only thing he shared with us was that he has problems with his family and wants to be his own person in this word."

Kori's mind grasped the words the woman had just said and at that moment the urge to see the intriguing and mysterious young man skyrocketed. This mysterious yet alluring man captured Kori's curiosity in less than anything she had ever encountered before.

"Thank you once again." Kori said before the woman nodded. "Anytime. Be safe." Kori smiled before walking out of the library and back home.

"Peter." Kori repeated slowly as she walked down the park in front of the library, passing by numerous laughing children and parents enjoying a wonderful day under the sunshine of L.A's sky.

PRESENT DAY, MARCH 30

"Oh come on. I just wish for detergent." Kori said stressfully as she pressed the help button again. She had been waiting for twenty minutes straight for the arrival of a Thrifty employee. Kori groaned again before checking her watch on her wrist.

Her feet were killing her and she was desperate to go home and soak in a warm bathtub with lavender flowers while watching her guilty pleasure criminal shows. After a long day at work, waiting with agony feet pain at the local Thrifty store was not in her mind.

"Do you need help?" someone asked, cutting Kori's thoughts. She turned around gleefully replying, "Yes please! If it isn't a both-"

The words just stopped rolling out her mouth the second her gaze landed on the stranger. There stood the library suitor. The mysterious young suitor who had swept her curiosity to its extreme. The young man who was reading in such a lovely language that it wasn't a doubt it made the angels in heaven cry in jealousy.

Peter.

"I-" Kori said, losing her words. The man just gave her a small smile before asking, "Which one did you desire?" Kori broke off her trance before answering, "The Tide detergent please."

He nodded before reaching up and getting the detergent down for her. It bothered Kori that although the mysterious young man and her were practically the same height, the only reason she couldn't reach for the detergent was because her belly had grown so big over the last few months.

He handed the detergent to Kori. "Thank you." Kori replied as she accepted the detergent from him. "No problem." he replied before realizing how Kori was still gazing at him.

"I'm not a criminal you know. In case you were wondering about the scars on my face." he said, almost ashamed. "Oh I apologize for staring. It's just your eyes are so beautiful." Kori replied quickly before closing her mouth with widened eyes.

The man chuckled. "That's a first."

"First what?" Kori asks confusedly at how the mysterious man is laughing quietly.

"First time anyone ever says anything nice about me."

Kori chuckled as well before holding her hand out. "Kori Anders. It's very nice to meet you."

"Peter. Peter Haywood." he said with a smile as he accepted Kori's hand and shook it.

It was at this moment everything in Kori's life would change forever.