Chapter 3 : More Than A Distraction
365 Words
Janu had always been good at ignoring distractions.
She knew how to block out the noise of the world, how to focus on what mattered. But Adrian? He wasn’t just a distraction—he was a full-blown problem.
Because no matter where she went, he was there.
When she walked into class, he was already lounging in his seat, notebook in hand, twirling a pen between his fingers.
When she passed by the library, he was leaning against the shelves, flipping through a book he probably had no intention of reading.
And when she sat under the oak tree at lunch, he was right beside her, as if they had some kind of unspoken agreement.
"You're really persistent," she muttered one afternoon, nibbling on the sandwich she brought from home.
Adrian reached over and plucked a chip from her lunchbox like it was his. "And you're really fun to bother."
She swatted his hand away before he could steal another. "You are bothering me."
His smirk deepened. "If I really annoyed you, you wouldn't be sitting here."
Janu opened her mouth to argue, but—damn it—he was right.
Somewhere between his teasing remarks and the way his eyes always seemed to see her, she had stopped pushing him away. She didn’t even know when it happened.
One afternoon, she was walking home when she heard footsteps behind her.
She glanced back, already knowing who it was. "Are you following me now?"
Adrian shoved his hands into his pockets, walking at a casual pace. "Nope. Just heading in the same direction."
She frowned. "You don’t live this way."
He grinned. "And yet, here I am."
Janu huffed, but she didn't tell him to leave. And when it started to drizzle, she definitely didn’t notice the way he immediately moved closer, shielding her from the rain with his jacket.
"You're impossible," she murmured.
Adrian leaned down slightly, his voice quieter than usual. "And yet, here you are."
Her heart stuttered.
She hated how easily he could do this—how he could turn the most ordinary moments into something that made her stomach flip.
And the worst part?
She was starting to like it.
- Writer
