Before we knew...

I met him on a day I almost skipped class. Campus was noisy, full of people rushing everywhere. I was new, trying to fit in, trying not to feel out of place. Then I saw him. He was older than most students, confident, and calm in a way that made people notice him without trying. Our eyes met for a moment, just a second, but it felt longer. Nothing happened. No words were spoken. I walked away, telling myself it didn’t matter..... But it did. I saw him again. And again. Each time, it was a surprise, a random meeting that shouldn’t have meant anything. But it did. My heart reacted before I could think. I kept telling myself I was imagining it, that it was nothing. Some things start quietly. Some feelings don’t wait for permission. This was one of those things. It started before we knew it. Before we understood it. Before we realized that some people change your life, just by being there. It wasn’t love—not yet. It was something more confusing. Something that made my chest ache, my thoughts scatter, and my days longer. Something that made me wonder if I had ever felt anything like it before. I tried to tell myself I was imagining it. That I was reading too much into coincidences. That I should just focus on school, on friends, on myself. But no matter how much I tried to ignore it, I kept seeing him. Always at the right moment. Always when I least expected it. And every time, it became harder to pretend. Because some people enter your life and refuse to leave quietly. Some people change the way you notice the world, without even trying. And some feelings..quiet, unplanned, unexpected feelings grow stronger before you even understand what they mean. This is how it began. Before we knew it. Before we understood it. Before we realized how much someone could change our life by simply being there.