The first time their eyes lingered on each others' was on a hot and mundane Summer's day. It was on a Thursday, or perhaps, it was on a Friday, no one could really be sure now, but it was on a lazy late afternoon, post-lecture, in a cozy corner of a busy cafe, where the two pairs of warm chocolate eyes - one pair more of the shade of milk chocolate, tinted with bits of dark caramel swirls, and the other coloured a dark velvety shade of dark chocolate, almost black, but shiny, like the smoothness of melting dark chocolate - met and held each other with deep regard.

The look had stayed long, but not uncomfortable, already a proud product of many a practice of fleeting glances and stolen gazes. It was a new beginning again. Their eyes promised the foray into new experiences of shared happiness, of togetherness, of a future, unknown, but undeniably bright, perhaps blinding - a pun, which was at this moment, still unintended.

***

"I.." he started, then faltered after only a mere syllable uttered from trembling lips, clammy palms rubbing on the sides of his jeans before awkwardly tucking into his pockets, seemingly determined to restart his speech.

She held her head still, only her eyelids were lifted, opening her eyes bigger as the pupils directed their focus to the perfect face of the speaker. It was a timid gaze through the lashes, awaiting the defining moment between them that was not quite pronounced, yet.

A deep breath. The stiff shoulders rose and fell from the purposeful intake of air, a pseudo-remedy to up the courage that was fast seeping out from his veins. Clenched jaw, set in renewed fervour, he spoke again. 

"I like you."

It was the first time that silence sounded like a symphony of clashing cymbals and majestic notes played from the trumpet. The breeze that caught their hair in that single moment became a melodious violin composition, dramatic and delightful. Red, yellow, orange, and brown leaves fell from trees around, caught up in the gentle play of the wind; the world was beautiful. Autumn had never been so lovely a season. 

***

Drunk was the word to describe it. Oblivion, perhaps.

The second hand was ticking away to the minute as one heart slowed from the gradual cutting off of air supply by the nose and mouth that had forgotten how to inhale. Opposite, close by - very, very close by - was another heart, beating fervantly, like a butterfly's wings fighting to get out of the constricting jar to see the world outside.

5 seconds. 10 seconds. 12... 15 seconds.

A short distance that spanned over an imaginary ocean. Faces were close; their breaths already short, afraid to wheeze and distract those seconds that were counting down on their own around the dials of the clock. He leaned in in a swift swop downwards, his hand cupping her cheek tenderly, lightly, almost not touching her translucent supple skin, as if unsure if she was real and tangible in front of him; his eyes half closed, flickering towards the rose tinted lips, slightly parted as she in the air that she had missed inhaling, just as the air that hit her heart made it hammer against her chest.

20 seconds. 25... 30 seconds.

In-built, perhaps, the ability to sense the coming of their first intimate contact, the eye lids did not even flutter; sure of the course of action, everything happened in tandem. In a single second, eyes closed completely, and their lips met.

Nothing around them moved it would have seemed, not as if they would have cared. Against the backdrop of empty trees, ugly branches, framed by the frost hanging in avant garde clumps, 30 seconds from a minute went by as slow as a bamboo raft drifting along the calmest river. The picture had the potential to be framed as a still from a romantic movie; coloured in sepia, it would be a nostalgic homage to the young blossoms that grew in young hearts, kept warm and ever alive even as the natural landscape around grew cold and bare.    

***

"Let's make angels!"

"Okay!"

Running fast into the bright span of white beauty, she picked up a handful of snow first and flung it towards him. Her laughter sounded in a high pitch, its musicality reaching his ears and tickling them, infecting him with the same playfully happy air of holiday reverie. He laughed along; the eye smiles branded into her mind as the prettiest motivation for her heart to stop beating for just a millisecond.

They tackled each other like children who had seen snow for the first time. It was the season for giving, and they gave their laughter to each other, a more effective flame that warmed them to their hearts than any fireplace or stove around.

On the walk to her home, they held hands. On purpose, he hid her gloves in his sweater's pocket and produced his own pair from the pocket of his down jacket. He wore one and gave her the other, the remaining hands were interlaced and placed in his pocket; like the cheesy characters in unrealistic dramas, they had a romantic walk along the plain street. The snow twinkled from the moonlight; it was the first time that the harsh cold was nonexistent. If the heart was warm, nothing mattered anymore.

***

C-. See me at my office within this week.

A bad day. College started to become stressful. Credits were lost due to late work, tardy behaviour, diminishing attendance. Silence was a form of being on the defensive and it protected the other from the knowledge of the slip up at school. Mismatched moments to excuse himself and herself from the company of the other made for displeasure to arise, only because the struggle to juggle meetups and studies was getting harder to hide or handle.

"I miss you."

"I miss you too."

"I miss you more."

"I miss you even more."

Silliness in repetitive structures of ineffective communication emerged. This was the first blow to the bond. Silence, bred from the concern about the other's feelings, became the poison to the shared experience.

*** Author's Corner ***

Dear readers,

You can tell that I'm feeling a little mellow. /chuckles/

How was the opening chapter? Did it make sense? Did you like it? What are your feelings? Please share your thoughts with me. :)

Love, Kaylove.

P.S. A Myungsoo kiss to you for reading this. ^^