Love Was Never the Plan.

Love Was Never the Plan Chapter One: The Boy I Never Planned to Notice I always believed some things in life were better left untouched. Love was one of them. Not because I hated love. Not because I didn’t believe in happy endings or the beautiful stories people told about finding their person. I loved watching couples laugh together, seeing people fall hopelessly in love, and hearing stories about how two strangers became everything to each other. But I never imagined myself as the girl in those stories. For me, college was supposed to be simple. Wake up. Attend lectures. Study. Pass my exams. Build a future. That was the plan. No unnecessary drama. No heartbreak. No distractions. Especially not boys. I had watched enough of my friends lose focus because of relationships. I had seen girls cry over promises that were never kept and give pieces of themselves to people who never deserved them. I promised myself I would be different. I was Lyn Williams, and I knew exactly what I wanted. At least, I thought I did. The funny thing about life is that sometimes the things we avoid the most are the things that find us first. I met Kelvin without actually meeting him. At least, that was how it felt in the beginning. He was just a familiar face around campus. Someone I noticed without really paying attention to. The kind of person you see several times in different places until your brain starts recognizing him before you even realize it. The first time I saw him, I didn’t think much of him. He was just another student walking around campus. Another person rushing to class. Another stranger living his own life. But then I started seeing him everywhere. Near the hostel. Around the school grounds. Walking with friends. Laughing with people. Sometimes, our eyes would meet for a few seconds before one of us looked away. Nothing serious. Nothing meaningful. At least, that was what I told myself. I didn’t know his name then. I didn’t know his story. I didn’t know that behind that confident smile was someone who had experienced things I had never experienced. Kelvin was different from me. Everyone seemed to know him. He had this natural confidence that made people notice him. He wasn’t the quiet type who disappeared into the crowd. He carried himself like someone who knew exactly who he was. And maybe that was what caught my attention. Not because I liked him. No. I refused to admit that. I was simply curious. There was something about him that made me wonder. Who was this person? What was his story? But curiosity was dangerous. Because sometimes curiosity is the first step toward something you never planned. --- Kelvin had a reputation. Not a bad one exactly, but a noticeable one. People knew he had dated before. Actually, he had dated many times. He was experienced when it came to relationships. He understood things I didn’t. He knew what it felt like to love someone, lose someone, and move on. Meanwhile, I had never even had a boyfriend. Not because nobody had ever shown interest in me. I just never allowed myself to go there. I was the girl who watched from a distance. The girl who listened to her friends talk about their relationships but never had a story of her own. The girl who believed her heart was something valuable and should not be handed to just anyone. Maybe that was why Kelvin seemed like someone I should avoid. He had a past. I had none. He had loved before. I had never even started. We were two completely different people. And yet somehow, I found myself noticing him more than I wanted to. I started recognizing little things about him. The way he smiled when talking to his friends. The way he walked around campus like he belonged there. The way people naturally gravitated toward him. I hated that I noticed these things. Because noticing someone was dangerous. And I had no intention of falling for anyone. Especially not him. --- "Why do you always look so serious?" My friend asked me one afternoon while we were walking back from class. I laughed. "Do I?" "Yes," she replied. "You act like you are married to your books." I rolled my eyes. "At least my books won't break my heart." She laughed loudly. "You and this your no-love philosophy. One day someone will come and change your mind." I shook my head. "Impossible." I believed that with my whole heart. Love was something that happened to other people. Not me. I had goals. I had dreams. I had plans. And none of those plans included a boy. Especially a boy like Kelvin. --- The first real conversation we had happened unexpectedly. It wasn’t some dramatic movie moment. There was no slow motion. No magical music. No sign from the universe telling me that this person would become important. It was just two people talking. Simple. Normal. Almost forgettable. Almost. I remember seeing him that day around the hostel area. He looked relaxed, unlike the busy version of him I usually saw around campus. For some reason, our eyes met again. This time, neither of us looked away immediately. Then he smiled. A simple smile. But somehow, it stayed in my mind longer than it should have. "Hi." That was all he said. One word. One simple greeting. And somehow, my heart reacted like it had heard a whole conversation. "Hi," I replied. That was the beginning. Not a relationship. Not love. Just a greeting between two strangers. But every story has a beginning. And sometimes the smallest moments become the ones we remember the most. --- I didn’t know Kelvin would become someone I would think about. I didn’t know his name would become familiar. I didn’t know his voice would become something I looked forward to hearing. I didn’t know that the person I was determined not to love would become the person who made me question everything I believed about love. Because love doesn’t always come when you are ready. Sometimes it comes when your heart is locked, your mind is busy, and your plans are already written. Sometimes love doesn’t ask for permission. It simply arrives. And when Kelvin walked into my life, I didn’t know it yet… But everything I believed about love was about to change. Because love was never the plan. Kelvin was just the exception. Chapter One: The Boy I Never Planned to Notice (Part 2) I never expected the day I truly met Kelvin to be during a lockdown. College life was supposed to be about lectures, assignments, exams, and the small memories we created with friends. But sometimes, life had a way of changing plans without asking for permission. It started when some students decided to go on strike. The situation became serious, and before we knew it, the school was placed on lockdown. No normal classes. No usual movement around campus. Everyone was forced to stay around their hostels and wait until things returned to normal. For many students, it was frustrating. For me, it was just an unexpected break from the routine. Since I had nothing important to do, I decided to visit my friend at her hostel. I didn’t know that walking into that hostel would be the beginning of a story I never planned to write. At that time, I had no interest in Kelvin. Actually, I didn’t even like him. To me, he was just another guy I had seen around campus. Someone who seemed too confident. Someone who looked like he knew exactly how to get attention. And honestly? That type of person was not someone I wanted to be around. I had always been careful about the kind of people I allowed into my life. I was not the type of girl who easily got comfortable with guys. I didn’t entertain random conversations, and I definitely wasn’t looking for a relationship. My mind was somewhere else. My focus was my future. So when I entered my friend’s hostel room that day, I had no idea that Kelvin was about to become part of my story. --- I was sitting with my friend, enjoying our conversation and forgetting about everything happening outside, when Kelvin appeared. At that moment, I barely paid attention. He was just my friend’s friend. Nothing more. I watched as he walked toward my friend and started talking to her. I didn’t think anything of it. Until I heard my name. "Can you call her for me? I want to talk to her." I looked at my friend with confusion. Me? Why would he want to talk to me? I immediately became suspicious. I didn’t know him. We had never had a proper conversation before. And suddenly, he wanted to speak with me? My first reaction was hesitation. I honestly didn’t want to go. My mind was already creating reasons why I shouldn’t. What does he want to talk about? Why me? Is this really necessary? I wasn’t interested in making new connections, especially with someone like him. But my friend encouraged me. "Just go and hear what he wants to say." I hesitated for a few seconds. Part of me wanted to refuse. But eventually, curiosity won. Not because I liked him. Not because I was interested. I just wanted to know why he wanted to talk to me. So I followed. --- When I entered his room, I remember feeling slightly uncomfortable. It was strange being alone with someone I barely knew. Kelvin looked at me and smiled. Then he introduced himself properly. "My name is Kelvin." It was the first time we actually spoke. Not just passing each other around campus. Not just exchanging random looks. A real conversation. I introduced myself too. "Lyn." That was it. Two names. Two strangers. A simple introduction that meant nothing at the time. Or at least, that was what I believed. We talked for a while. Nothing too deep. Just normal conversation. Getting to know each other. Before leaving, we exchanged contacts. But even then, I wasn’t completely convinced. I remember feeling unsure. I didn’t know if I wanted to continue talking to him. There was still something about him that made me keep my distance. Maybe it was because I had heard things about him. Maybe it was because he seemed like someone who had too much experience compared to me. Or maybe it was simply because I never imagined myself being interested in someone like him. I walked away from that room thinking nothing would come out of that conversation. I thought it was just a random meeting during a random lockdown. I thought Kelvin would remain just another person I met in college. I had no idea that the boy I was so hesitant to talk to would slowly become someone I would never forget. Because sometimes, the people we try hardest to ignore are the ones who end up changing our lives. And that day, without knowing it… I had just met the exception to my rule. kelvin