30 Days Of Us

Chapter 4 - New surprises

Lily had just finished her Literature class—with Leo as her professor.

She still couldn’t wrap her head around it. Leo, her roommate, was also Professor Miller, standing in front of the class with so much confidence and intellect that it was almost like he had transformed into someone else entirely.

Despite the confusing feelings swirling inside her, Lily couldn't deny one thing: he was good at what he did.

The way he explained things—clear, engaging, and almost effortless—left Lily quietly impressed. His words were simple, yet thoughtful. Every example made sense. She found herself actually enjoying the class… even though her cheeks still burned whenever his eyes wandered in her direction.

When Leo finally dismissed the class, Lily began packing her things in a hurry, hoping to slip out unnoticed.

But a crowd of girls beat her to it—surrounding Leo, giggling and chatting. Some asked questions about the lecture... others not so much.

"Professor, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Do you wanna eat lunch with us today?"

Lily rolled her eyes. She shoved her notes and pens into her backpack and tried to make a quiet exit down the stairs when—

"Lily!"

Her seatmate grabbed her arm.

"Let’s go say hi to our professor!" Sage said with a cheeky grin. "I also need to ask him something about... William Shakespeare!"

Oh no.

Lily didn’t want to go anywhere near Leo right now. But Sage was already pulling her into the crowd.

The group of fangirls surrounding Leo didn't look thrilled to see two more intrude.

"Excuse me, girls!" Sage said sweetly but sarcastically, elbowing her way in. "We have real questions about LIT-ER-A-TURE."

The girls grudgingly stepped aside.

Lily gave them an awkward, apologetic smile in return, but it only earned her a few dagger-like glares. She tried not to wince.

Leo chuckled under his breath at her reaction.

"Yes? And you are?" he asked, looking at Sage.

"I’m Sage, and this is my friend Lily," she said proudly, then added in her usual bubbly tone, "Sir Miller, I have a little request."

Oh no. Here it comes.

"Would it be okay if you explained… what William Shakespeare meant by ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’ over lunch?" Sage asked, flashing her best puppy-dog eyes.

Leo raised a brow and grinned.

“Oh really?” he said playfully, sneaking a glance at Lily who was now definitely hiding behind Sage.

"Well, Miss Sage," he said with a smirk. "First of all, I’m afraid I can’t join you for lunch—I’ve got a stack of paperwork waiting for me in the office. And secondly…" He paused for dramatic effect.

"That quote wasn’t Shakespeare. It was Socrates. Your homework is to find out what it actually means."

"Awwww..." Sage pouted dramatically.

Leo looked past her.

"How about you, Miss Lily? Do you have any questions?" he asked, clearly teasing.

Lily gave him a sideways glare and muttered, "No, sir."

"You sure?" he asked, raising a playful eyebrow.

Lily could feel Sage glancing between the two of them, suspicious. Before it could go any further, Lily pulled Sage’s arm.

"I really need to use the bathroom. Can we go now?" she said quickly.

"Okay, Lil. Bye Prof!" Sage chirped, already bouncing back to her usual mood.

As the two girls walked away, Lily could still feel Leo’s eyes on her. She turned slightly—just enough to sneak a look—and saw him wave and mouth,

"See you at lunch."

Her heart stopped.

Did he really just say that?

Was he lying about the paperwork?

Trying to hide the sudden flush on her face, Lily turned away and hurried to their next class.

---

Later that day – 12:03 PM

The cafeteria buzzed with students ready for lunch.

Lily learned that she and Sage were blockmates—they shared the same course, subjects, and most of their schedule. It meant they'd likely be stuck together for the rest of the semester. Not that she minded. Sage was loud, but fun.

"Lily, what do you want to eat?" Sage asked, holding onto her arm as they scanned for a vacant table.

"Hmm..." Lily’s eyes darted to the menu posted a few feet away.

"Maybe I’ll get the—"

Her phone vibrated in her pocket.

"Hold on a sec."

Lily pulled out her phone and saw the caller ID: Leo.

Her heart jumped. She turned slightly to hide the screen from Sage.

"Sage, I’m sorry. Something came up. My... uh... brother wants to eat lunch with me."

Sage’s eyes widened. "Ooh, you have a brother? Can I meet—"

"Sorry! Gotta go! See you in class!" Lily cut her off mid-sentence and darted off, pressing the phone to her ear.

She found a quiet spot outside and answered.

"Heyyy, Lil," Leo said casually.

"Why are you calling me in school?" Lily whispered through gritted teeth, glancing around.

"Relax. I just want to give you something. Come up to the rooftop, okay? I’ll wait for you."

"Wait, wha—"

But Leo had already ended the call.

Lily let out a deep sigh and shook her head.

"This man is going to give me a headache," she muttered to herself.

---

Lily stood uncertainly in the middle of the courtyard, glancing around.

"Which rooftop…?" she murmured, eyes scanning the nearby buildings.

She had no idea where Leo meant. The campus was huge, and she barely knew her way around.

Her thumb hovered over her screen.

Should I call him?

Or maybe just ignore it altogether.

She was seconds away from walking off when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone waving from the rooftop of the three-story building right in front of her.

Leo.

Her heart skipped a beat. Conscious of being seen by other students, she lowered her head and made her way quickly inside the building.

Her phone vibrated again.

Still catching her breath, she answered.

"Stop doing that..."

"Doing what?" Leo asked, playfully.

"Calling me. Aren’t you scared what people might say about us?" Lily hissed in a whisper.

"Not really," he said casually. "We’re not doing anything wrong."

He had a point. Their relationship wasn’t anything scandalous. They were roommates. Friends. That’s it. Nothing for people to gossip about.

So why did it feel like a secret?

Lily took a breath, shaking off the nerves, and made her way to the stairwell. Each step felt heavier than the last, her legs protesting more with every floor.

"I seriously need to exercise more," she muttered to herself between pants.

By the time she reached the rooftop door, she was gasping. She tried pushing it open, but it wouldn’t budge.

With a frustrated grunt, she gathered the last of her strength and shoved one final time—just as Leo pulled the door from the other side.

The door flung open, and Lily tumbled forward—landing squarely on top of Leo, who fell back with a loud thud onto the rooftop floor.

Her face was pressed against his solid, firm chest—warm and steady, with the faint scent of soap and cologne.

"Are you okay, Lil?" Leo asked, rubbing the back of his head and looking down at her.

But Lily froze, her eyes wide as she realized where her hand had accidentally landed.

Oh my God.

She turned scarlet.

Leo blinked in realization, and a faint blush crept up his neck too.

Lily scrambled to get off him, but as she tried to pull away, her hair snagged on one of the buttons of his shirt.

"Ouch!" she winced, clutching her scalp.

"Wait, don’t move. Let me help," Leo said gently, his voice calm as he reached up.

He carefully untangled her hair, fingers working with soft precision. The silence stretched. Every second felt like it ticked twice as long.

Finally, she was free.

They both stood up awkwardly, brushing off dirt and pretending that didn’t just happen.

"Sorry about that," Lily mumbled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"No, it’s my fault. I should’ve warned you I was opening the door," Leo replied with a sheepish smile.

A brief silence lingered between them, until a cool breeze swept past, rustling their clothes and breaking the tension.

"Oh, right!" Leo suddenly said, his tone lightening. "Come on. Let’s eat lunch together."

He led her to a shaded corner of the rooftop where a blanket was laid out like a tiny picnic spot. Two bento-style lunchboxes sat neatly in the middle, along with a bottle of juice and utensils.

"You… cooked?" Lily blinked, surprised yet again.

"Yup," Leo said proudly. "Made these this morning. Thought we could eat up here. Less noisy than the cafeteria, right?"

Lily couldn’t hide her smile. Just like that, all the awkwardness from earlier faded into the breeze.

She sat down beside him, and together they opened the lunchboxes. The food looked surprisingly good.

Leo’s unexpected effort made her pause. Her heart, which had been pounding in confusion and embarrassment moments ago, now softened with something else. Something she didn’t want to name yet.

Can we really stay just friends?

She brushed the thought aside for now.

For the moment, she simply enjoyed their little rooftop lunch—just her and Leo, under the sky.