Never knew I'd be close to you

ch. 2 - Unexpected encounter

The first day of school had finally arrived, and Tixea was doing her best not to let her social awkwardness show. She kept her head high, her steps measured and reminded herself to breathe. "This is a fresh start, just be yourself and act normal" she said inorder to ease herself. "Atleast the lanterns were nice." she added.

That was until she got to her classroom.

"Gurlieeeeepop!"

A loud squeal nearly made her jump as a blur of energy rushed toward her. Before she could react, she was pulled into a tight hug.

Trisha.

Tixea barely had time to recover before Trisha pulled back, her eyes shining with excitement. "Guess who was looking for you earlier?!"

Tixea blinked. "Who?and why are you so excited?"

Trisha practically vibrated as she grabbed her arms. "Z.A.Y.N.E."

Her face was so red it looked like she might actually explode . Tixea stared blanky at her, "And who the heck is that?" she deadpanned and rolled her eyes.

Trisha grasp dramatically. "Wait...You don't know Zayne? THE ZAYNE? tall, handsome, basketball captain, THE CAMPUS HEARTHROB?!" She clutched her chest like she just been personally offended. Before Tixea could reply, the school bell rang, signalling the start of their first class. The room quickly filled with the sounds of chairs scraping and students shuffling to their seats. CiaTixea sighed in relief as Trisha reluctantly let go, still mumbling about Zayne like it was some huge deal.

Class began, and Tixea did her best to focus, but Trisha kept sneaking glances at her, clearly dying to say more. She ignored her. She didn't care about some popular guy-she just wanted to survive the first day.

The bell rang and at lunch time , Tixea grabbed her tray and followed Tifanny and Kiel to the cafeteria. The three found an empty table and sat down, finally being able to relax.

"So," Tiffany started, unwrapping her sandwich, " any first-day impressions?" Kiel shrugged. "Same as always. Some teachers are cool, some are terrifying oh and I already lost a pen." Tiffany laughed. "Of course you did."

Tixea was about to add her own thoughts when a sudden presence loomed over their table.

"So this is her?"

A deep voice made her look up. Standing in front of them was a guy with a confident smirk, hands in his pockets, looking directly at her.

Trisha, who had been approaching their table, gasped loudly behind him. "Oh my Gosh.Zayne!"

Tixea froze "Wait. This is the guy Trisha was talking about?"

Before she could say anything, Zayne leaned slightly closer, grinning. "Hi Girlfriend."

Then, as she blinked in cofusion, a guy came after Zanye. She finally got a good look at him. His sharp features, his neatly pressed blue uniform, and—most notably—that familiar, playful glint in his eyes. It wasn’t just some random guy.

She knew him. He wasn't just some random guy.

“You—” she started, her voice trailing off as heat rushed to her face.

Flustered, Tixea immediately looked down, grabbing her spoon and shoving food into her mouth to avoid saying something embarrassing.

Tiffany and Kiel exchanged glances, clearly amused.

Meanwhile, Nnaj chuckled, completely unfazed. His usual nonchalant expression never wavered, but there was clear amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Well, this is gonna be fun,” he murmured, taking a seat at their table like it was the most natural thing in the world.

And just like that, Tixea's first day took an unexpected turn.