The Love Letter I Keep Reading

Chapter 5 : Two Views of the Same Moment

AVALEIGH’S POV

I was running late, shoving a chocolate croissant into my mouth as I dashed past the school gate—when I nearly crashed into Axel. He was holding a stack of books, his café uniform still on over his shirt and tie.

“Whoa, slow down—chocolate on your cheek,” he said, grinning as he handed me a napkin.

I wiped my face quickly. “Thanks—are you heading to work now?”

“Not yet—my shift starts after school,” he replied. “Want to walk in together?”

I was about to say yes when I spotted Knight across the courtyard, waving frantically in my direction.

“No, thanks—I have somewhere to be,” I told Axel. He nodded in understanding and headed ahead without me.

I made my way straight to Knight.

“Finally—you’re paying attention to me! You were so cold to me yesterday,” he said.

“Why did you want to talk to me anyway?” I asked.

“Nothing much,” he replied shortly.

“Then what’s the point of us talking?”

“Hey, I’m joking! I wanted to tell you—I’m thinking of running for school officer. No team this time—I’m going for vice president,” he explained, making my eyes widen in surprise.

“Want to join me?” he asked. I shook my head right away.

“Elliana’s planning to run for president—she’ll probably go up against Anastasia. I don’t know if she can win,” I said. I knew deep down she’d have a hard time—Anastasia was on a whole different level.

Our conversation was cut short when the bell rang out, signaling it was time to head to class. Knight grabbed my hand without warning and started running. We couldn’t afford to be late—if our teacher got to the room before us, there would be consequences.

As we ran, it felt like we were the only two people in the world. We didn’t care about anything around us—all that mattered was making it on time.

KNIGHT’S POV

As we ran, I didn’t care about anyone around us. The only things that mattered were making it on time—and having him by my side as we climbed all the way up to the fourth floor. In those moments, it felt like he was the only person I could see or focus on.

When we finally reached the classroom, we were already too late—our teacher was already inside, and we had to stay out in the hallway until class ended. I could see the disappointment written all over Avaleigh’s face, so I reached out and patted her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” I said.

She sighed and looked at me. “Easy for you to say—if you hadn’t stopped to talk to me downstairs, we would’ve made it. Ugh, I can’t believe this.”

I apologized to her and sat down to the side. She just looked at me for a moment before moving closer.

As she came over, I said sorry again. She calmed down and told me it was alright.

“Want to head to the library for now?” I asked, and she just nodded.

We went straight there and took the first empty table we saw. I stood up to look for some books to read. I browsed through the romance section first—maybe she liked love stories. I picked up Call Me By Your Name by Andrè Aciman, then grabbed a horror book too—The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty—in case she preferred something darker.

But when I came back, I found her with her head resting on the table, cheek propped up in her hand, eyes closed. I sat back down beside her, laid my own head on the table, and looked at her. I never realized how gentle her features are when she’s at rest, was the first thought that crossed my mind.

AVALEIGH’S POV

When I opened my eyes, Knight’s face was the first thing I saw. He looked so peaceful—yes, handsome, with such a calm expression. My attention shifted only when my phone suddenly buzzed.

New Message – Alexander: Where are you?

I didn’t reply right away and checked the time instead. Two hours had passed already. No one had woken us up, but then again, no one really minded here—students were few and far between in the library most days. I stood up from my chair and looked at Knight one more time before heading out.