Rule Number 3:
Anyone aiming for love is the enemy
Class rolled around once more.
She had never been one to dread learning in particular. And it should be noted that it wasn’t the learning that she was dreading as much as it was the possibility of who she might face once she walked into the lecture hall.
It doesn’t take long for even the owner of the dimmest of wits to come to the conclusion that delaying the inevitable is arbitrary and useless in the end. Viola knew this well, but she couldn’t help but take a bit longer while making her way through the all-too-familiar halls of the school she’d grown to love and hate. She let her eyes linger on the walls, gaze caressing the paintings she’d grown used to passing on the daily. It was funny, how quickly it all faded to the background. It felt like just yesterday when she’d taken her time to gawk at all the beautiful things in her line of vision, but as of late she’d just sped past them, too used to them to notice the beauty anymore. Or at least, too busy to properly appreciate it.
Now of course, all of this stalling lead back to one person, one annoying person in particular. No matter how many times she replayed the twenty-second interaction in her head, she couldn’t recall any signs of recognition on the boy's face when she’d taken his order. Thinking this, she hoped that would be the case again, and if he did manage to spot her in the crowd of a couple hundred people, he wouldn’t recognize her, and instead move on with his life like he always did when they accidentally locked eyes.
Holding out her cup of coffee in hand, she made her way into the hall, keeping her eyes alert for any signs of the enemy forces. Also known as her one sided nemesis.
This was ridiculous, she knew it. She’d heard all about it from her best friend. But emotions, much less hate, rarely ever made sense. So she clenched her free hand into a fist, took a deep sigh and entered the lecture hall, bag hanging on her shoulder as she looked for an open seat, preferably somewhere close to the exit.
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Setting down her things, she took a careful glance around the room. The coast was clear, as far as she could see. She sighed, this time of relief. Even if he was there, she couldn’t see him, and she could work with that.
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Just as quickly as it had come, class ended. Viola started gathering her things and packing up, making quick work of it so she could make it to the dining hall before she was in a hurry to move along. Pulling the string of her book bag over her shoulder, she left the room with a faint smile on her face, nearly having forgotten all about what had made her so worked up in the morning before she’d gotten to class.
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The school hallways were never quiet, this much she had learned over the course of her time there. But for a few seconds, she swore she could’ve heard a pin drop in the sudden silence. There, standing in front of the door stood a boy, hair bewildered, eyes dead tired, like he hadn’t gotten any sleep in the past week. Making his way to her direction dangerously fast. Oh come on.
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His expression, usually one of an easygoing smile, of warmth was now hot with rage. She didn’t know what had happened to him, and to be honest she didn’t really care. She did, however, feel a small bit of contentment at finally seeing something else on his face than a smile. Whoever had pissed the human sunshine off definitely deserved something, maybe a high five, she thought. Maybe she should find them and congratulate them. Give an offering, tell them how incredible they were. Or not.
Because now he was standing in front of her, sharp eyes staring intently into hers, keeping her locked in her place. Oh how she wanted to run away, or maybe melt into the ground. Anything to get away from him and just disappear from his line of sight. Just a second ago she’d been thrilled to see him more or less miserable, but now the look in his eyes, directed at her or not, made her feel uneasy.
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“Excuse me,” Alex gritted out, jaw tight, and just like that he passed by her, his arm brushing her shoulder as he did. Her mouth felt dry, and she almost let out a laugh. What had just happened?
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She turned around, looking at his back as it disappeared. She didn’t really care what he was going to do. But a part of her wanted to run after him. Maybe just to taunt him, rub it in his face. She had no concern over him, or what had happened to make him like that. It was a welcome change. She felt like he finally seemed like a human instead of a doll with a smile permanently painted on. So he was capable of showing some other emotion. Not that she cared.
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Her laptop was old, she’d gotten it as a birthday present from her aunt when she’d turned sixteen. Her aunt had said she’d need it when she went to college. And she was right. Now, however, the thing was, five years later the machine had a hard time staying on if it wasn’t constantly plugged in. So usually Viola would steal Mina’s laptop, or go use the computers at the library.
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That day she’d gone to the library, equipped with her textbooks, notes and a steaming cup of coffee with her, ready to start on her schoolwork. The library computers weren’t anything fantastic, but they were more than adequate for what she needed them for. The only con was that there weren’t that many of them.
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She grinned as she saw an open seat in front of one of the computers. Score! Luck was really on her side today, she thought as she made her way to it, pulling out her student ID card so she could log into it. As she was looking through her bag, she heard the sound of a chair being pulled out. Oh come on.
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“Hey, excuse me, if you don’t mind I really need to use that so if you could just let me-” she started saying, but stopped abruptly when she lifted her eyes. Luck was not on her side today after all. The devil was playing against her, throwing curveballs and hoping one would hit her in the face. Devil 1 Viola 0.
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Alex had turned around when she started talking, now looking at her intently. He no longer looked furious or as disheveled as he had in the morning, but his usual smile wasn’t on his face, not as wide anyway.
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“I need to use it too. Sorry. I don’t know how long this’ll take, my laptop broke this morning, so this is really my only choice,” he answered. Maybe that’s why he was late? No, she shouldn’t care, it didn’t matter. What mattered was getting him off that computer and her on it.
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“Well…” how could she really even argue with that? “I, uh, saw it first.” She cringed a bit as the words left her mouth, but it was all she could think of to say. The corner of his mouth twitched up a bit. That jerk. How could he be amused? She’d been eyeing that computer since she walked in, she wasn’t lying. She hadn’t even seen him until he just suddenly appeared in the chair that, mind you, she was supposed to be sitting on now.
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“You saw it first?” he repeated her words, this time smiling fully, eyebrows highlighting his amused disbelief. She felt her face growing hot. She just hoped he didn’t notice. “Yes, yes I did. And I’d really appreciate it if you moved somewhere else, I have to start now if I want to get anything done before I have to leave for work!” she exclaimed, half wondering why she’d given him that much information. Just so he understood how much more she deserved to be on that computer, she told herself. Nothing more.
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“Work? Wait, have I seen you before?” Alex asked, eyebrows furrowing slightly. That’s seriously what he decides to focus on? Viola thinks, huffing out a breath of air.
“Yes, you have. We’ve been attending the same classes for three years,” she stated, hoping she sounded more amused than annoyed.
“Well yeah, but that’s most students here, I meant somewhere else,” he answered, face scrunching up as he clearly tried to recall where he’d seen her before. She felt her anger growing slowly. Why couldn’t he just give up the damn computer?
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“Ah, now I know, you work at the coffee shop right? I came in a few days ago and you seemed really annoyed, that’s where I’ve seen you!” he exclaimed, happy to have finally figured it out.
“Good for you. Yes I work there, yes I was annoyed, and yes thank you I will be taking that computer now,” Viola gritted out. Out of all the people on campus, no scratch that, in the world, she just had to bump into him. Great!
“What?” shock washed over his face. She couldn’t lie, it made her feel accomplished. Take that!
“I don’t really have time for this right now, either you give me that computer now or I’m leaving and I sincerely hope our paths will never cross again,” Viola said, trying her best to sound calm and collected despite feeling like anything but.
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When he didn’t answer and just kept looking at her with wide eyes, she could only huff and turn around to leave. “Dick,” she said, audibly enough for only him to hear and walked out. This meant war.
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