Chapter 4 - Stalking
1255 Words
The next day, we had a small study group at the library.
I sat beside Lynn while Joseph sat across from us, patiently explaining each step of a mathematical problem I thought I understood… until I didn’t.
“I don’t know if I’ll finish this number or if this number will finish me,” I muttered, and Joseph chuckled.
“Hey, calm down. Look.” He pointed at the rule again. “You just need to apply the proper formula here.”
I stretched my arms and damn... big mistake.
Because the moment my eyes lifted, I saw my most hated favorite person.
He was across the room, surrounded by engineering students and, of course, mostly girls from other majors. They leaned in close, laughing, hanging on to his every word like he was some walking academic fantasy.
He moved with that same confidence I remembered, explaining advanced mathematics as if it were nothing.
My chest tightened.
Of course he’s the smartest. And the girls? They’re clearly not here for the lesson.
Why do I even care?
Lynn nudged me, snapping me out of it.
“He’s here,” she whispered. “Should I ask him something?”
I groaned, pressing my pen harder into my notebook.
“Lynn, don’t. We can just solve this—”
But she didn’t listen.
Of course she didn’t.
“I’ll just ask a small thing. This is my chance too!”
Oh no. Please don’t.
Before I could stop her, Lynn raised her hand.
“Hey, Maverick!”
His head turned. His eyes flicked in our direction. He excused himself from the group and started walking toward us.
My stomach dropped.
Oh my God. He’s coming over.
He stopped at our table, textbook under his arm, and looked down at us. He glanced at me, but I immediately looked away.
“You’re all working on general mathematics?”
“Yes, and it’s so difficult. I heard you’re good at math. Maybe you can help us?” Lynn said, lightly touching his arm.
I gritted my teeth.
Tathaira Lieste, focus. For the love of God, FOCUS.
He smiled politely and leaned in to help her. Lynn giggled softly, leaning closer, soaking up every second of attention.
Joseph noticed my distraction.
“Thaira,” he murmured, “focus on this one.” He pointed at a similar probability problem. “Are you fine?”
I nodded and forced a smile. “Yes… it’s just so difficult.”
“You’re overthinking it. Look at the steps I wrote down. You’ll get it.”
Joseph ruffled my hair, and the moment he did, Maverick cleared his throat.
Lynn jumped slightly. “OH… did I give a wrong answer?”
Maverick shook his head. “No, it’s fine. You can continue.”
I tried to focus again, but every time Lynn giggled, my eyes flicked toward them.
“What are you solving?” he suddenly asked.
His attention was now fully on me.
“I… uh…” I stammered, unsure whether I wanted him to keep looking at me or look away forever.
“It’s okay, Maverick, Thaira and I can just solve this—” Joseph began.
But Maverick stepped closer.
He leaned down behind me, arms resting on the table on either side of my body—completely caging me in. I froze. I could smell his perfume. Clean, warm, maddeningly familiar.
“You’re missing a step here, Tathaira.” His voice was low beside my ear. “See? Use this formula to apply this value. It’ll make the solution easier.”
I forced my eyes onto the notebook, but his presence was overwhelming—magnetic and suffocating in both the best and worst ways.
“For this one,” he continued, writing a quicker formula, “you don’t need the long method. Once you apply this, the rest follows.”
I scribbled notes as fast as I could.
“Uh… I think she’s got it,” Lynn said, waving her hand dismissively. “My friend here is sooo smart at it already, Maverick, so maybe explain this one for me instead?”
“I–I can manage this now,” I said, glancing up at him. Our eyes met. “T-Thanks.”
“You sure?” he asked softly.
He didn’t move away. His fingers tapped lightly on my notebook, still hovering.
Joseph raised his hand triumphantly. “Now it makes sense! This was what we missed earlier!” He grabbed my hand excitedly.
“Maverick, check mine!” Lynn said, pushing her notebook toward him.
Joseph nudged me. “Thaira, are you listening?”
“Yeah,” I said too quickly.
He laughed. “You’re distracted again.”
“I’m not,” I insisted—lying to both of us.
“Let’s see if you can beat my score on the next quiz.”
When I looked over, Maverick was watching us.
“You’ll get a higher score if you review more and talk less,” he interrupted.
I glared at him.
He didn’t look away. His pen stopped moving. His brows raised slightly, like he was trying to read me.
This is ridiculous. He’s just… here. And yet I can’t focus. Why do I feel like this every single time?!
The study session dragged on for what felt like hours. At least when he finished helping Lynn, he finally left.
When we packed up, Lynn grinned at me.
“See? He noticed me. I think he likes me.”
I forced a smile. “Sure.”
But inside, my chest wouldn’t loosen, and I could feel my thoughts circling back to him.
When I got home, I threw my bag on the chair and sat on the bed.
I received a text from Amari and she told me that she’ll be home late today so I'm alone in the house.
I tried to study, but my head was still full of what had happened earlier.
Ugh! Tali, please! You shouldn’t feel this, ever again! You survived first year without noticing him! How come you cant do the same thing today?
I sighed and get my phone again.
Okay, Tathaira Lieste, just one time.
Just look what he’s up to through these years.
I opened the app and typed his name. His profile appeared instantly. He indeed still have posts but it’s not a lot. Maybe just…less than ten in total.
I scrolled slowly, pretending I wasn’t that interested.
Then I stopped at one picture.
The beach was behind him, the sun hitting his skin. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and he just wore a pair of board shorts. His hair slightly wet and messy. His shoulders looked broader than I remembered, and his abs—God.
I put my phone down as my face burned.
Okay stop it, Tathaira!
I felt like I was fight I was fighting my own self but end up losing to my self too.
My thumb froze on the screen again. He looked so effortlessly… hot.
Oh my God, why is this affecting me? It’s just a picture. A really hot picture. Of him. Without a shirt!
Then, before I could move my thumb away, the heart icon turned red.
Shit!
No. No. No. Please tell me that didn’t happen!
I quickly unliked it, but my hands were shaking. I tossed my phone aside and covered my face with a pillow.
Shit! Just s**t!
A few seconds later, my phone buzzed. I froze. I grabbed it slowly.
Maverick:
You done stalking me?
- Writer
