College Sweethearts

TXT Kai

I looked at the orange glow of the sun as it set behind the college dorms. I sighed as I looked down at the blank piece of paper in my hands before smacking my head on the paper. “Ugh, I haaaateeee not being able to have an idea after watching the sunset!!! Why is this only happening to me?!” 

I groaned, flinging my head back, cracking my neck. “Ow, ow, ow, ow,” I said, grabbing my neck and massaging it. I sighed, looking off into the distance, wondering how I actually came to this conclusion, being at one of the most prestigious colleges, and yet, I wasn’t that smart.

I sighed, one more before suddenly I heard a soft click and I looked up and was met with a boy around my age, black hair, soft eyes, looked like he was from an anime. ‘Wow,’ my mind whispered as I took in the boy’s presence. But, weirdly, he didn’t seem to notice me as he walked towards the edge and looked out. I blinked as he turned around and held up his phone, probably for a selfie with the sunset.

I stared at him, wondering if I was just invisible as he ran a hand through his hair, before he made eye contact with me. He stared at me, as if I was a ghost before he shut his phone and slipped it into his pocket. He blinked, walking over to me and looking at my blank paper. He pointed at it and tilted his head. I blinked. 

“You’re deaf?” I asked before he burst out into laughter. “No, you idiot, I’m asking you what you’re drawing,” He said, sitting down next to me. “Oh, um, I don’t know,” I said, looking down at my paper as he nodded. “My name’s Kai,” He said, reaching his hand out as I took it, nodding. “Y/n,” I said. 

“I’ve seen you before, haven’t I?” He asked before I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so,” I said, as he shrugged. “Wait, aren’t you in Ms. Amelia’s Art class?” He asked before I nodded. “Right, that’s where I’ve seen you before. So, are you working on the semester project?” He asked as I nodded, once more. 

“Yeah, what about you?” I asked as he shrugged. “Yeah, it’s just a collage of sunsets. What’s your main course?” “Law,” I said as he nodded. “Same here, but I’m only doing it because my parents forced me to do it. I begged the principal for a seat in this class,” He said. “I’m on a scholarship here for art, but I’m doing Law here too,” I said as he nodded. 

  “It’s not that hard,” I said as he shrugged. “What is?” He asked as I smiled. “Law. It’s just arguing. Plus, it's kinda like drawing. See, first you need to know what your argument is about, like the outline of a drawing. Then, you need to look for information to support your argument and it's like adding details to a painting,” I said, sketching a quick drawing and showing it to him as he studied it.

“Cool,” He said before he stood up. “I gotta get going. I’ll see you sometime later, Y/n,” He said, walking towards the door and opening it. “Also, we can share this place,” He said before walking out the door. I blinked before furrowing my eyebrows. “What makes you think you found this place first?” I asked, rolling my eyes. 

The Next Day…

“Alright, boys and girls, today will be another day to work on your semester end projects, and remember this will be graded on how hard you work, not how good the drawing is,” Ms. Amelia said as the classroom burst into talking. I pulled up my bag and pulled out my headphones, and put them on, playing lo-fi music.

I stared at my blank piece of paper as my mind raced for an idea before I felt someone sit down next to me. I blinked, and looked over and found Kai sitting down. He gave me a small smile and wave before looking down at his paper. I smiled and looked down at my paper.

For the next hour, I couldn’t draw anything before I felt a tug at my headphones before they fully came off. I blinked and frowned as I looked over at Kai who was dangling my headphones from his hand. I tried to grab it but he moved it before I could. “No, you’re not getting these back,” He said as I frowned again.

He gave a little laugh before setting them on the table. I blinked as he motioned towards the class. “If you’re having trouble finding inspo, it's right here in front of you, you know? Sometimes, it's nice to disconnect from technology. But seriously, not for a long time, though,” He said, smiling at me before continuing his work.

I blinked, looking at the jumble of mess in the classroom. I scanned the room before I found myself staring at Kai again. I blinked, feeling a tingly feeling arise in my chest as he hummed while gluing his photos to a piece of cardstock. I blinked before looking at my paper and then an Idea popped into my head. 

I had to draw what I loved, right? And, at that moment, I realized that the tingly feeling I had was something called love. So, why not draw the thing/person I loved right then. I looked at Kai before grabbing my sketchbook. I grabbed back my headphones, stuck my tongue back out at him and started secretly drawing him.

“So, you found your inspo?” He asked, looking at me once before I nodded. 

Two hours later…

I groaned as I discarded another sketch of Huening. His face was so hard to get right, especially when you can only see half of his face. Huening laughed as the rest of the class packed up their things. “Having trouble drawing?” He asked as I nodded. “Hey, is there any chance that-” “Hey, babe,” I heard a voice call from behind me.

I blinked, turning around to lock eyes with a very, very pretty girl. Kai turned around and smiled, but it didn’t look genuine. “Hey,” He replied standing up. “You ready?” she asked, walking down. “Yeah, I’m coming. See you later Y/n,” Kai said, following her. I blinked as they walked out of the room.

“He has a girlfriend?!” I asked myself when I was the only one left in the room. I felt my heart melt, reform together, and then shatter into a billion pieces. I sighed, looking at the crumpled drawings of Kai. “Well, I already started, so why not finish?” I asked myself as I pulled out a new piece of paper and started sketching his jawline.

Two weeks later…

Kai panted as he entered the now full room of artists. He ran towards his friend, Yeonjun and almost ran into him. He put his hands on his knees as Yeonjun rubbed his back. “Whoa, calm down,” He said as he patted his back as Kai stood up. “Am I late?” He asked as Yeonjun shook his head. 

“No, you’re right on time. You just missed the part where Ms. Amelia praised Y/n’s drawing of you,” He said and Kai nodded, still trying to catch his breath. “Wait, wha-” He said, looking up and around before resting his eyes on the picture. “Hey, Kai, what the hell? Why is there a picture of you on the board?!” His girlfriend asked, putting a hand to her hip.

“I don’t know?!” He yelled, running a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe you,” she said, scoffing and walking away. Kai blinked, before something snapped inside of him. “You know, I can’t believe you,” He whispered back at her, making her stop.

“What?” she asked, turning around. “Yeah, you heard me. I know everything. The secret dates, the secret kisses, everything. I thought you truly loved me. I saw something in you back in high school, but now, that spark is gone. You know what? We’re over,” He said, storming out of the room. 

I stared at the sun high in the sky, feeling a sense of calm wash over me. I sighed and leaned on the wall, looking down and staring at the little blobs of people, not realizing that Kai was one of them. Kai ran inside the building, knowing exactly where Y/n was.

He ran up the stairs, accidentally bumping into 3 people, saying so many sorrys and continuing running. He burst through the door, putting his hands on his knees as Y/n looked at him. “Kai?” I asked, running over to him and putting a hand on his back.

He grabbed my wrist and backed me into a wall. “What the hell? Why did you draw me?” He asked, face a few centimeters away from mine. I blinked, feeling my face grow pink at the close proximity of our faces. I turned away from his face, embarrassed. “Answer me,” He said, voice lowering as I turned back to him.

“What, I’m not allowed to draw the person I love?” I whispered, looking down at the ground. He blinked, staring at me before finally understanding what I was saying. “You… Love me?” He asked as I shrugged.

“Unless you know another word for this warm, fuzzy feeling I keep getting and our life going like a k-drama,” I said, looking up to meet his eyes. He blinked at me before letting out a small laugh. “Yeah, I know that feeling. It's probably love. Well, lucky for you, I just broke up with my girlfriend and I think I like you too,” He said.

He smiled, and closed his eyes, closing the gap between us. I blinked before fluttering my eyes shut, relishing the moment as a beautiful orange glow shone upon me and my new love.