THE UNWELCOME STARES
723 Words
CHAPTER 3: THE UNWELCOME STARES
Seren Aveline Marquez’s POV
I didn't think much about him the next day. At least, I tried not to. But it was like his voice was still echoing somewhere in the back of my head.
"Nice serve."
I could hear it again and again, even if I didn’t want to.
No, I wasn't interested. I'm not like that. I don’t fall for guys easily. Especially not loud ones. And definitely not ones like him.
Still, when I entered the gym that morning and saw his bike parked outside, my heart did this weird jump. Like it missed a step.
"Ugh," I muttered under my breath, adjusting the strap on my bag.
I walked past it quickly and headed inside, hoping he wouldn’t be there.
He was.
Leaning on the wall, arms crossed, talking to one of the janitors like they were old friends. He smiled easily, laughed like he had no problems in the world.
I didn’t say a word. Just went straight to the court.
He noticed me, of course.
"Hey, Ice Queen. Back at it again?"
I didn’t even stop. Just walked to the court and took out my racket.
"Good morning to you too," he added with a slight chuckle.
I ignored him.
Let him think I was rude. I didn’t care. I was here to train. Not to entertain people like Kael Ronin Navarro.
But during warm-ups, I could feel his eyes on me. Not just once. Not just a glance. He was watching.
"Staring won’t make me play worse," I said, loud enough for him to hear.
He laughed. "Not trying to sabotage you. Just observing."
"Then observe quieter."
He raised both hands like he surrendered. "Fine, fine. I’ll stop."
But he didn’t. I knew he didn’t.
---
Later that day, I was walking with Bea, Lia, and Ira. We were talking about our group project when Bea suddenly poked my arm.
"Don’t look now," she whispered, "but Motorcycle Boy is staring again."
I didn’t turn. I just sighed.
"Is he always like this?" I asked, annoyed.
Lia nodded. "Kael Navarro has a fan club for a reason. He’s used to people drooling over him."
"Well, I’m not drooling."
"Clearly," Ira laughed. "You’re giving him a cold shoulder and he seems to love it."
"That’s his problem," I said.
But why did it feel like mine too?
---
Kael Ronin Navarro’s POV
She’s different.
Most people smile when I smile. She frowns.
Most girls wait for me to say something. She walks away before I even open my mouth.
And yet, I keep looking for her.
Seren Aveline Marquez.
She’s not like the others. She's not trying to impress me. She doesn’t try to be cute or loud. She’s just... herself. And maybe that's what makes her stand out.
I wasn’t planning to come to the gym today, but something about her made me curious. So here I am. Watching. Not in a creepy way. Just observing.
She’s focused. Intense. Every move is calculated. Every serve is sharp.
When she told me to "observe quieter," I had to bite back a smile. She's so... blunt. No sugarcoating. No pretending.
I like it.
I told Jace about her later.
"You? Crushing on a girl who doesn’t even smile at you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I’m not crushing," I replied.
"Right," he snorted. "You just happened to talk about her for ten straight minutes."
I threw a pillow at him.
Still, he had a point.
Maybe I was interested. Just a little.
But I knew better than to rush it.
She looked like the type who builds walls. Not the kind you knock down, but the kind you earn your way through.
And I was willing to take my time.
---
Seren’s POV
Next few days, he didn’t talk much. Just waved sometimes. Sat on the bleachers during practice. Watched.
I didn’t say anything.
But I started to notice things.
He always stayed after I left.
He never interrupted practice.
He didn’t flirt. Didn’t bother me.
Just... existed in the background.
And strangely, that was harder to ignore.
When someone is loud, it’s easy to tune them out.
But when they’re quiet?
You start to wonder why.
You start to notice.
You start to care.
Even if you don’t want to.
To be continued...
- Writer
