CHAPTER 2: Rowan Blackwood
782 Words
Six months earlier.
I didn’t know it yet, but today was going to be one of those days you remember in pieces.
Not because it was special.
But because something inside it refuses to fade.
---
Silverwood University always looked better from a distance.
From far away, it was beautiful—clean buildings, tall glass windows, wide paths filled with students who looked like they had life figured out.
Up close… it was just loud.
Too many voices. Too many shoes hitting the pavement. Too many people pretending they weren’t lost.
I clutched my bag tighter as I walked through the main courtyard, eyes scanning for nothing in particular and everything at once.
I liked routine.
It made life feel predictable.
Safe.
Which is why I noticed him immediately when everything stopped feeling safe.
---
It started with noise.
Laughter. Shouting. A crowd forming near the cafeteria entrance like something important was happening.
Something was always happening at Silverwood.
I almost kept walking.
Almost.
But then I heard it.
“Rowan! Get down before you break something expensive!”
Followed by laughter so loud it pulled attention from everywhere.
My feet slowed without permission.
And then I saw him.
Standing on top of a cafeteria table like it was the most normal place in the world to be.
Like rules were just suggestions.
Like gravity was optional.
He had no shame.
None at all.
“That’s not even the point!” he announced loudly, arms spread like he was giving a speech. “The point is—if I survive this, I deserve extra credit.”
Someone yelled, “That’s not how school works!”
“Exactly,” he replied immediately. “That’s why I’m protesting.”
The cafeteria erupted.
Phones came out. People were laughing, filming, cheering like this was some kind of daily entertainment.
And he… he just stood there smiling like he owned the moment.
Like he always did.
---
I should have walked away.
I really should have.
But I didn’t.
Because something about him didn’t match the chaos.
It wasn’t just arrogance.
It was confidence that didn’t ask for permission.
Like he had already decided the world didn’t get to define him.
And somehow, that was more disturbing than the noise.
---
“Rowan Blackwood!” a staff member shouted, rushing in. “Get down right now!”
So that was his name.
Rowan Blackwood.
He turned slightly, looking down at the crowd like he was genuinely considering it.
Then he shrugged.
“I was just making a point,” he said casually.
“What point?” someone yelled back.
He grinned.
“That life is short and cafeteria tables are sturdier than they look.”
The staff member looked like they were one breath away from collapsing.
“DOWN!”
Rowan sighed dramatically, like he was the victim here.
“Fine. Ruining my legacy, but fine.”
And then—
He jumped.
Not carefully.
Not gracefully.
Just… jumped.
The impact was immediate.
A chair toppled. Someone screamed. A drink flew through the air in slow, tragic motion.
And Rowan?
Rowan stood up like nothing happened.
Fixed his shirt.
And bowed.
The cafeteria exploded into laughter again.
Like he hadn’t just caused chaos.
Like chaos was his personality.
---
That was when it happened.
He looked up.
And for half a second—just one—
His eyes met mine.
I froze.
Not because he was intimidating.
But because he looked amused.
Like he had caught me watching.
Like I was part of the story now.
Then he smirked.
And turned away like I didn’t matter at all.
---
I should have felt relieved.
Instead, I felt annoyed.
And I didn’t even know why.
---
“Who is that?” I whispered to the girl sitting next to me.
She didn’t even look up from her phone.
“Rowan Blackwood,” she said like I was the strange one for asking. “You don’t know him?”
I shook my head.
She finally looked at me like I had just admitted I lived under a rock.
“Okay, wow. He’s like… the most popular guy here. Everyone knows him. Everyone talks about him.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “Because he does whatever he wants. And somehow doesn’t get kicked out.”
I looked back at him.
He was laughing again.
Surrounded.
Untouchable.
And completely unbothered.
---
I didn’t know it then.
But that was the moment everything started changing.
Not because he spoke to me.
Not because he noticed me.
But because for the first time in my life…
Something unpredictable had stepped into my carefully ordered world.
And I had looked right at it.
- Writer
