UNEXPECTEDLY YOURS

BREAKING THE RULE.

I wasn’t looking for love. In fact, I had just sworn it off—again. But life has a funny way of flipping the script when you’re not paying attention.

I had just moved into a new hostel on campus with my friend-turned-roommate, Ria. I was still adjusting to the environment, getting used to the faces and routines. Ria and I would always attend classes together—she was like my comfort zone in all the chaos.

One day, I was heading out to class when something—or rather someone—caught my eye. From my balcony, I saw a tall, fine-looking guy walking through the hostel compound. The hostel was big, with several buildings, so it wasn’t unusual to see new faces. But this guy stood out.

That was the first time I noticed him—Forty.

You're probably wondering how I knew his name. Lol, I heard someone call him that one day, and it stuck. After that, I started noticing him more and more around the hostel. He never saw me though—I would just quietly admire him from my balcony.

Mind you, Ria and I had made a vow: no dating guys from our hostel. So I kept my crush to myself and enjoyed watching from a distance.

Then came the day everything changed.

Some of our friends came to visit, and randomly, one of them mentioned they knew Forty. I was surprised. Though I knew his name, but I found it surprising because here was someone casually saying they were friends.

So, I followed the friend to Forty’s room to say hello. I greeted him—nothing extra—and let the conversation happen between them. But when it was time for our friend to leave, Ria and I walked them out… and to my joy, Forty joined us.

In my mind, I was dancing. The guy I had been secretly admiring was now walking beside me!

On our way back, things got quiet. Then, Forty broke the silence. He asked for our names. I told him mine, Ria said hers. He told us his too, and asked what we were studying. We talked a bit, just casual stuff, until we got to the hostel gate and went our separate ways.

When we got back to the room, Ria and I were so happy. Even though we had sworn off hostel guys, we were excited—we finally made a friend. We were always on our own in that place, so it felt like a little breakthrough.

Later that night, even though I knew I wouldn’t date him, I still felt happy that I got to talk to him—even if it was just that once. And yeah, I slept happy too.

A few days passed. I went to get something from my hostel’s mini-mart. As I was leaving, guess who I ran into? He was just about to enter the mart. It felt like a movie scene. He waved at me shyly and said, “Hi.”

I said hi back and walked away, smiling like a fool.

Of course, I rushed back to tell Ria all about it. She smiled while I gisted her, nodding like she already knew I was falling hard.

Then one random day, I saw a message on my phone from an unknown number.

To my surprise, it was Forty—yes, the same Forty who had taken over my mind.

I was so happy he texted me, but I tried to act normal... had to maintain my steeze, you know?

We started texting, and I quickly realized—he actually texts well! The vibe was there. We even exchanged pictures. Not gonna lie, I slept really happy that night.

The next day, we texted again. And again. It started to feel real.

I mean, I knew I liked him, but the thought that he might actually feel the same? I wasn’t sure… but it felt like something was growing between us.

As we talked more, I got to know him better. Turns out he was in his final year, while I was in year three. He was so reserved and barely talked to anyone, there was this calm nature he had. Somehow, that made me like him even more.

Then one night, he said he wanted to come say hi.

He came over to my room, and we stood at the balcony, talking under the night sky.

“So Dee, I’ve finally seen you properly,” he said with a small smile.

“I didn’t see you well that night we met.”

I just smiled.

He went on, “You looked so young in the picture you sent. I was even scared you might be a minor.”

I laughed and assured him, “Nope, I’m not a minor. I’m very legal.”

We talked for a while that night. And honestly, it felt… good. Like I was alive again. I’d forgotten how nice it felt to have someone that I was genuinely interested in and vice versa.

I was leaving school for home the next day, but I carried that night’s conversation with me like a soft secret in my heart.

I got home from school, and the first person I wanted to talk to about my trip was him. Of course, I didn’t act like I was already catching feelings—I played it cool so it wouldn’t seem too sudden or forced.

I was home for two weeks, and throughout that time, we talked every single day. At some point, he asked if we could call, and I agreed. We ended up talking on the phone for over three hours.

It felt so good—effortless.

We talked about everything: past relationships, favorite foods, random interests… just two people connecting with no pressure.

We kept up the daily conversations throughout the two weeks. Then one day during a call, he casually pitched in, “I like you already.”

I liked him too. So I told him. I wasn’t going to pretend I didn’t feel the same.

When I returned to school, he came to see me that same night. As usual, we stayed on the balcony and talked for a while.

Then, just before he was about to leave, he asked me for a kiss.

I declined.

Not because I didn’t want to—but because I didn’t want us to start off like a situationship. Those things usually get messy, and I didn’t want that for myself—especially since we lived in the same hostel.

The next day, I went to see him in his room. His space felt calm and cozy.

We talked, listened to music, and it turned out we had very similar music taste—which made me even happier because I’m a huge lover of music.

We played soft, melancholic tracks and a few love songs in the background. And then, while the music was playing, he looked at me and asked:

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

I smiled. I wanted to be with him.

So I said yes.

Of course, I told Ria, and she was so happy for me.

Funny thing? Ria also ended up in a relationship—with someone in the hostel too.

We couldn’t stop laughing at ourselves. The no-dating-in-the-hostel rule? Broken. Shattered. Gone.

Not long after I agreed to be his girlfriend, we finally shared our first kiss.

To be honest… it wasn’t what I expected.

It felt kind of mid—not bad, just... not magical. But I knew it wasn’t because something was wrong. I just wasn’t fully comfortable yet.

Eventually, I got comfortable with him—and he did with me.

And that’s when everything started to feel right.