60 Days With Nathan Cole

{Macy’s POV} Being late is a terrible way to start a day. Being late while holding hot coffee, three textbooks, and what little remains of your dignity after tripping over nothing yesterday is worse. And yes, that happened yesterday. And no, I don’t want to talk about it. I tightened my grip on the books as I hurried across campus, trying to walk like someone who had her life together. The keyword here is ‘trying’, because there is a very big difference between having your life together and looking like you do from a distance. From afar, I was thriving. Up close, I was one loose step away from disaster— both academic and financial wise. “Okay,” I told myself quietly, adjusting the coffee in my hand before it betrayed me. “We’re calm. We’re organized. We’re moving like a normal human being.” I reassured myself because there was a need to. Campus was crowded as usual. People moved in clusters, conversations overlapping, someone laughing too loudly or wildly, someone else running to class like they were being chased by an invisible raccoon. It was the kind of chaos that everyone seemed to understand except me. I shifted slightly to avoid bumping into a guy who wasn’t watching where he was going and nearly walked straight into me. Which is ironic. Very. I steadied myself and kept going and that was when I noticed it. Not him. Not yet. But the shift. You know that subtle change when something— or someone, important enters a space and people react without meaning to? Heads turning. Movement slowing. Attention shifting like a quiet ripple through water. Yeah. That. Curiosity is not my strongest trait. It has never led me anywhere good so naturally, I looked… and there he was. Nathan Cole. Sex figure, runaway model, top Athlete, undercover Greek god, and so much more. Now, I’m not saying I’ve been observing him excessively to know all these. That would be creepy. I’m just saying… if you exist on this campus, you are automatically aware of him; in the same way you’re aware of gravity. Or finals week. Or the fact that some people just win at life for no clear reason. He moved like the space belonged to him, not in an arrogant way exactly, but in a way that suggested he had never been told otherwise. Tall, relaxed, gym bag slung over his shoulder like it weighed nothing. His hair looked like it had been styled by accident and somehow still worked in his favor, which felt unfair to the rest of us who had to try. And his face… Well. There are levels to attractiveness, and let’s just say he is effortlessly high on that scale. I stared at his face again. Or he broke the scale? I stared but I wasn’t staring foolishly. Let’s be clear about that. I was just observing. There’s a difference. Also, I wasn’t even looking at him for that long now. What mostly caught my attention was everything around him. The way people reacted; how a large group of girls had slowed down nearby, not hiding the fact that they were staring and taking pictures of him, and how more were still going to come. In the meantime, one of Nathan’s friends said something and everyone laughed a little too easily, like the joke didn’t even need to be that funny. Nathan only smiled; stunning. Every single person adjusted to him and it was just crazy. I probably should have stopped looking at that point. And I did— just not in time. Because while I was busy being observant and generally very aware of social dynamics around him, I was also still walking forward. Yeah. That’s a typical me behavior. And unfortunately, Nathan was also moving, just slower. I realized the situation a second too late. Which is still very late as I turned forward, fully prepared to correct my path. But instead… I crashed straight into him. Yeah, crazy. I know, but it’s too late to talk about how things could have been done better as my books slipped out of my arms now, hitting the ground in a dramatic, disorganized pile… …while my coffee tilted, sloshing dangerously over the edge before deciding to join the chaos and spill onto the pavement. For a moment, everything slowed so as to become even more obvious to people, which was great because if I was going to embarrass myself, I might as well do it publicly right. I panicked at once because of this but I didn’t know this was about to become even worse. Worse featuring a clash of audio daggers and a jerk revelation. “I am so sorry,” I said quickly now, already crouching to gather my books. “I didn’t see—” “Are you blind?” The words stopped me cold. Not because he raised his voice. He didn’t. That was actually the problem. He said it like it was obvious. Like I had just asked him a stupid question and he was doing me the favor of pointing out the obvious. I looked up… and he was staring down at me, expression calm, almost bored. No concern. No “are you okay.” No reaching down to help. Just irritation, like I was a pest that had disrupted his peace. Everything about that didn’t sit well with me. I stood up slowly, clutching the little I had picked to my chest. “Excuse me?” I said. It came out more stern than I expected but he didn’t react much. If anything, he looked impatient. “You walked into me,” he said, his voice deep in the right ways. I ignored it. “Yes,” I replied, because that part was not up for debate. “And I said I was sorry.” There was a brief pause. Not silence exactly, but close enough to feel it. And it started to feel like momentary peace until he spoke again. “Pay attention next time.” He said in dismissal. What? I let out a small breath, trying to calm my rising anger, and then I tilted my head a bit. "It’s fascinating." He frowned slightly. "What?" "Well," I said, gesturing vaguely around us, "this is a public walkway, which usually means people are allowed to walk in it. Not pace and pause occasionally like a misplaced pole." That got a reaction. Not from him. From the people around us. There was a shift; several heads turning more openly now. Someone behind him let out what sounded like a very surprised laugh before quickly stopping. Nathan’s gaze stayed on me, but something in it changed slightly. Something became tighter. “What did you just say to me?” Came his richly deep voice again but I wasn’t intimidated if that was his goal. “The truth,” I responded. “Because you also have a fault here.” “You ran into me.” He pointed out again. Flat. Dismissive. Like the conversation should already be over with that statement. “I’m aware,” I said. “I was there for that part. But then I apologized— which you were supposed to acknowledge, by the way. That’s how common sense works.” With that, another reaction came from the crowd. His friends were definitely watching now, exchanging shocked half-smiles and gazes like this was new. Like I was new. “I don’t do apologies,” Nathan responded. “And if I did, you’d not be worth it.” Wow. I actually felt a hit in my chest at that. “You’re.. you’re rude!” I voiced because that was the only thing that came to me. “And you’re insignificant. Now leave.” He said and I couldn’t believe these were the words I was hearing. “How can you be like this! I know I ran into you but then I apologize for which you—” “I don’t care about you or your apology,” he cut in again, “Just don’t run into me again.” He resolved and actually turned away to speak to one of his friends. I was left in awe. And it wasn’t towards something good or I was just shocked by his entire guise because you can guess that someone is an asshole but you never guess this level of asshole-ness. Wow. He even made me create a new word. He was discussing with his guys now and already walking away as they resumed their laugh, and seeing this, my self-control slipped. “You know what?” I said, shifting my books in my arms. He turned then as if he had forgotten something behind him. I met his eyes, holding them just long enough. “I actually feel sorry for whoever has to live with you and put up with you because you’re a.. you’re a menace!” I voiced. I probably sounded dumb calling him a menace after such a rageful buildup but then I wasn’t one for curse words so now I just crouched to pick the rest of my things but then I exploded with his response. “And you’re too little for your words to matter to me.” He said and it took everything in me not to yell. I didn’t. I just rose with my things, scattered in my clutch now, and left with a huff. But on the inside, I was burning. My heart was beating faster than usual, my grip tight around my books, my coffee now half gone and completely useless. That… was not how I expected my morning to go. I had just become enemies with the most popular and powerful boy in school, but I didn’t care, not when he’s a complete asshole. I exhaled slowly as I went now, replaying the entire interaction whether I wanted to or not. His tone. His dirty attitude and complete lack of morals. God, I have never met someone more ill-mannered! He didn’t even try to fix things. He just didn’t care. I had approached the situation like a rational human being, and he had responded like— Well. Like Nathan Cole. I was forced to realize this now that I have had the wrong perception of him all this time. Yes, he might have been crafted by seven gods but then no one speaks of the fact that he’s the god of rudeness and disrespect himself. It’s crazy how a personality can dent an iconic image. I glanced ahead now, trying to focus on literally anything else. No one had made me this angry in a long time so now I made the decision to never talk to, associate with, breathe near, relate with, and definitely not run into him again. Because if I did, if we ran into each other again, there was no doubt that it would be explosive. And I already have too much stress in my life without adding Nathan Cole to it. Not now. Not ever.