It had been a long... long day.

                You had your first interview for your dream job in the afternoon and you thought you were prepared. You certainly had practiced your answers plenty of times over the week, spending hours in front of your mirror in your best professional attire, training your smile and even your pattern of speech. You had to hide your country dialect and learn to tame the nervous tremor in your voice that was always present when you were faced with something you found intimidating.

                The first thing you did when the interview was scheduled was practiced. You practiced all day and night. You were sure you were ready for this.

                But then Hoya had happened...

                You hadn't been looking for a man in your life. The last thing you were interested in was awkward dates with guys that were more appreciative of the curves of your lips than the words that came out of them. The only guy you ever seriously dated was when you were in high school and that had ended rather abruptly. Other than that you hadn't even been on a date of any kind except that one time in your third year of college. But you had kicked that guy to the curb quickly because he was a distraction to your studies.

                This job was all that really mattered. It was what drove you. It was your passion.

                You hadn't needed anything else.

                You had been content with your plan to practice for the interview all week long. But then your mother had called and you had found yourself on a long bus ride back to your old town in the countryside. With only the weekend separating you and your interview the last thing you wanted was this kind of distraction.

                But your mother had been very convincing when she insisted that you needed to visit for your grandmother's 80th birthday. She promised that you'd still have plenty of time to practice. She promised that there would be no distractions of any kind.

                Only you had fallen into a big distraction before even leaving the city.

                You had been in your own world at the bus station. You didn't look at the people around you, you didn't even hear them. You had your note cards of possible interview questions out and you went over all the key points you wanted to address for each one. You spaced out entirely as you absorbed yourself in a mock interview right there in the bus station.

                In fact you were so absorbed in your thoughts you almost didn't notice the bus arrive, in fact you couldn't really say you ever realized it was there until someone had told you. Well... tell you was the polite way to say it... What really happened was you didn't see that the bus had arrived until there was suddenly a pair of fingers snapping loudly in front of your face, just a few inches from your nose.

                You jumped in surprise and nearly dropped your note cards as you glared up at the person standing beside you now. The young man was dressed in all black, just like yourself, only your outfits gave off very different impressions. While you were dressed in one of your business suits, a pencil skirt with matching jacket and pumps, the young man beside you looked almost as if he could've just rolled out of bed. He was wearing baggy sweatpants and a black hoodie that was up over his head, hiding most of his raven colored hair underneath. His equally dark and also notably thick eyebrows were raised as he looked down at you with his dark rounded eyes. You found yourself stilled for a moment as you stared into his eyes and tried to find where his pupil ended and his iris began. You found yourself oddly drawn in.

                After a second you looked away and shook yourself, bristling in your seat as you collected your note cards and stashed them in your pocket. You glared at the man that had so rudely grabbed your attention.

                "Were you raised in a barn?" you asked in your city accent you had learned over the years. You sounded too haughty and prissy even for your own ears, but this was the way you had to talk now if you wanted to be taken seriously in the business world.

                The young man that appeared to be around your own age on finer inspection said nothing and merely reached into his hood, tapping a set of canned earphones you didn't notice before. They were metallic purple, the only colorful thing he wore. You could dimly hear a heavy hip hop beat being admitted from them.

                He never once looked away from your eyes as he then gestured forward towards the bus as if in invitation. You only realized then that the bus station was now empty of life. The last passenger was climbing up the bus steps and it would soon leave without you if you didn't hurry.

                You didn't look back to the stranger beside you and instead took off towards the bus. You ran oddly in your restrictive pencil skirt and on your heels that you weren't completely used to yet. Normally you wore flat shoes and normally you didn't wear business suits as well, but you had insisted on wearing them every day until the interview to be sure you fit the part. You would've killed for sneakers and jeans now though as you practically hobbled your way to the bus.

                You managed to give the bus driver a courteous smile and collect yourself as you walked down the bus aisle with your head held high again. You brushed your bang aside and tucked it behind your ear as you took a seat towards the back where there were less people to interrupt your studies.

                You were taking your note cards out again when you spotted that strange young man getting on the bus now. Of course he was taking this bus too, you shouldn't have been surprised. But what surprised you more was that his dark eyes were still on you as he came down the aisle. He walked past plenty of empty seats and instead just kept moving towards the back where you were.

                You sat taller and shifted uncomfortably as he came right to your seat, standing beside you in the aisle. He lingered there for a moment too long for your tastes and you looked up to ask him what his problem was when he moved suddenly. You jumped in surprise as he held your own leather bag in front of your face. How had he gotten that? You couldn't have left it behind.... you wouldn't have done that... at least you thought.

                You looked between him and the bag before snatching it from him quickly. You held it to your chest and gave him an accusing look that he didn't seem to notice as he spun away from you and in one smooth motion took the seat beside you, across the aisle. He rested back in the seat instantly, shifting his body down, his back reclined. He turned his head away, his hands in his hoodie pockets, making none of his pale skin visible to you now. He was just a dark figure resting beside you in the back of the bus. The dim hip hop beat that you could hear earlier was louder now and you heard him let out a deep breath as if finally relaxing.

                You looked him over one more time and then let out a deep breath yourself. You decided to put that whole exchange behind you and once again focus on your interview that was on Monday. You took your note cards out again as the bus took off down the road.

                For awhile you were able to simply study your interview questions in peace. The bus was moving steadily down the highway, the noise of the engine, the tires on the pavement, and the wind moving past all created a comfortable buzz that made it easier for you to drown out the random chatter in the bus and the sound of the stranger's music.

                But as you hit rush hour traffic leaving the city that comfortable buzz faded. It was replaced by the steady hip hop beat that was far too loud for your taste. It wasn't that you had an issue with the music itself, in fact you even recognized the song that was currently on. It was one you listened to in high school and you always liked it, you had even danced to it at a school talent show once. Back when you were younger and a bit more foolhardy. But the song was just a distraction to you now. It was breaking your focus. You were losing your train of thought. The answers to the questions were getting jumbled in your head.

                That was all it took for you to begin doubting yourself. You felt your chest tighten and your eyes begin to moisten as panic gripped you. Those feelings that you weren't good enough were coming back, the thoughts that you'd never find your place in life, never amount to anything significant, never do anything important, all those thoughts were suddenly buzzing around in your brain.

                And it was all because of this damn guy beside you and his blasted music. You blinked back the frustrated tears that had been forming in your eyes and bristled in your seat again. You composed yourself as you moved closer to the aisle, your crossed legs now spilling out into the narrow space between you and the young guy beside you as you leaned closer to him.

                "Hey," you whispered towards his form. You still couldn't see his face as his body was turned towards the window.

                When you received no response you looked anxiously towards the front of the bus. You didn't want to raise your voice or disturb others, but you really needed his music to be lower. You just needed to study in peace so you could keep your sanity.

                "Hey... You.... hip hop guy..." you said a little louder as you leaned in as close as possible without getting out of your seat, the arm of it was digging into your waist as you bent over and reached towards the guy's shoulder to tap him there.

                Before you could touch him the bus jolted slightly and you pulled back in surprise. Why were you so nervous and jumpy?

                You were fed up with the whole situation and with your own lack of courage as you decided to get up from your seat. The bus was still again and you stood up firmly in your heels as you peered down at the guy in the next seat.

                You were planning to reach out and shake his shoulder, but paused as you found that you were able to see his face again.

                He was sleeping. His cheek rested on his own shoulder and the sunlight from the window illuminated his flawless face. You stared at him questioningly for a moment, feeling a weird sensation like that of deja vu as you examined his face. Now that you looked closely you were beginning to think this stranger may be younger than you, perhaps by a year or two. When he slept he looked oddly innocen