Unexpected Love

Dad! Dad! Do we always have to move? "Yes, we'd have to move this time. This may be the last time we move. And with the way you've been keeping to yourself, one would think you have sworn not to move on after your mom's death ", he replied At this point, I was almost crying. "Jenny dear, you know how much your mom loves you and won't be pleased you're doing this to yourself, right?" "Okay Dad, we can move" When I agreed to move, I didn't suppose we'd have a crazy neighbor who is as proud as f**k. I didn't even know we'd be moving to New York. I expected it to be our usual moving, somewhere not so far from our residence. We'd moved from Busan to Seoul and I didn't know why my dad thought it would be nice to go somewhere very far. I didn't want to move, but I didn't have a choice, so I agreed. "Jenny, you should get your things ready, we'll move in two days" he was saying "Two days?" "Yes, two days." He said and left the house I could only cry, how in f**k name will my dad even think of doing this to me. Two days to pack, not even a week. How pathetic!! That was how I found myself in New York. My dad didn't even care if I was okay with it or not. We just keep moving as long as he sees a better offer in the new place. He doesn't care about my feelings. He has the money anyway! I miss my mum. We got an apartment in New York and we had to live next door to the damn godforsaken rude dude. Hate is an understatement of what I feel for him! Damon I woke up to see the most charming girl I know sitting on the balcony beside my house and damn! Her lips. I wanted to know immediately. Who was she? Where was she from? When? How come I never noticed her? I had so many questions and the sight of a beautiful girl made me horny. Whether it was her who turned me on or my two days of celibacy caused it I had this crazy urge for crazy s*x. I called Katherine a complete wh***e who was always readily available at my beck and extremely crazy in bed. I didn't like her beyond the s*x and it irritated me that she thinks I'll settle down with her. In a few minutes, Kate was at my place and it was just a matter of her dropping her bag and us getting to business. She knew why I called and yes, we had it rough. In a short while, we were done and I had to prepare for school. I transferred money to Kate's account and gave her a dismissing look that said 'WTF you waiting for, leave!' I thought I heard her sigh. Just as I alighted from my car, the bell rang for the next class. I don't care tho. The school management can do nothing, can they? If they try anything, 'I' the almighty Damon will see to their downfall. They know it. I walked into the class and ignored the hushes coming from the girls I walked straight to my seat which was always empty and met someone on it. A female, her head was down and as she raised her head and brushed her hair aside, I saw her, it was the same girl next door and her Cologne made me want to put my head on her hair and breathe in her scent. She only looked up at me and faced her book right back. I felt insulted... I noticed the class went silent waiting for what I would do. "You're on my seat," I said meekly and felt the class giggle at my meekness. Because why on earth will the almighty Damon act so meek rather than his usual grumpy nature? I know for sure that my classmates doesn't really like me and do I give a f**k? No! Jenny My hands were still shaking when I stood up. I felt every eye in class on me, like heat crawling up my neck. Two things I hate: moving and being the centre of attention. And Damon? He was both the kind of attention you don't ask for and can't ignore. "Excuse me," I said, my voice smaller than I wanted but steady enough. "I'm new here. You've been on that seat longer than me, but it wasn't assigned to you. Find another." A snort went around the room. Damon blinked, like he'd expected me to melt. He didn't look angry, he looked amused, like I'd entertained him. That infuriated me more than his arrogance. "You're new," he drawled. "And you speak like you've got an opinion. Bold." "Bold beats rude," I replied, heat rising. "Besides, it's not yours." I jabbed my chin toward the empty nameplate at the front of the desk and the whispery chorus that followed. "Go sit somewhere else if you won't sit with me." He laughed -low and genuine and the laugh did something stupid to the back of my throat. If I hated him a minute ago, the sound complicated that hatred. Damon sat beside me and turned to face me properly, spreading his arms like a conqueror claiming a throne. "You sure you want a war with me?" he asked, half-smile dangerous. "I don't do peace." "I'm not here for a war," I said. "I'm here for a degree and a quiet life, if that's an option." He raised an eyebrow. The whole class tensed, expecting a scene. I didn't know if I should be proud that my voice didn't break when I said that last part. I missed my mother's voice more than anything, like it could have kept me steady. Saying "quiet life" felt like a promise I couldn't keep, and yet I meant it. Damon's eyes flicked past me, toward the window, then back. "Quiet's boring," he said almost to himself. Then, louder, "Fine. Keep your seat, new girl. But don't say I didn't warn you about me." He stood, grabbed his bag, and slid into the desk behind me. Close enough that I could hear the faint rum of his cologne wrap around my neck. My breath hitched; I fumbled my books and remained sitting anyway. The teacher finally arrived+ late, flustered, and carrying the scent of lesson plans and exhaustion. By the time the introductory ice-breaker rolled around, the class had decided Damon and the new girl were its own entertainment. My cheeks burned as the teacher asked everyone to introduce themselves. When my name came, I kept it short. "Jenny. Just moved here." "And from?" Mr. Alvarez pressed like it seemed he always did. Seoul," I answered. The word sat cold and foreign in my mouth. A fragment of my old life that made me sound exotic and lonely at once. People softened when they heard it- pity, curiosity — a mix I hated equally. "Welcome," a girl three rows back said, the kindness of strangers that felt hollow. Behind her, a boy mouthed, "New beef?" and someone snickered. Damon watched me. Not the way everyone watched, but like he was studying me, trying to map my edges. After class, as the crowd dispersed into the messy hallway, my stupid backpack strap snagged on my sleeve. I cursed under my breath, fingers fumbling. A shadow fell over me and a hand — Damon's hand was already on the strap, steadying it. "For someone who claims she wants quiet, you sure do make noise," he said, sardonic, fingers brushing mine for a second that lingered too long. "Maybe I like being loud sometimes," I shot back, trying to pull my arm away, but not really wanting him to let go. He tilted his head, smile gone soft for half a heartbeat. "I like loud," he said, then shrugged like he hadn't meant it. "Look, new girl..." "Jenny," I corrected. "Jenny then. Don't make me regret being merciful today." He stepped back, eyes challenging, then turned and vanished into the stream of students like nothing had happened. I should have been relieved. Instead I felt like someone had flipped a switch inside me. The apartment felt smaller that night, the walls closer, the city louder. My father was unpacking boxes in the other room, humming trying too hard to be normal. I sat on the edge of my bed and tried to breathe. New York noises leaked through the window, and somewhere in that noise was Damon's laugh. Damon She's a puzzle I didn't plan on wanting to solve. I watched her from across the hall that evening as she came in boxes and all moving with this quiet awkwardness that made me think of someone trying to hold back an ocean. Her hair smelled faintly of lemon soap and something else, softer; grief, maybe. It put a f*****g ache under my ribs I didn't like. Maybe it was because my life had been an endless string of taking what I wanted without checking the fine print. Maybe it was because she didn't melt when I barked. Or maybe because when she corrected me Jenny, she did it like she meant it and without fear too. That tiny insistence made me want to piss her off more and know her more at the same time. I don't do attachments. Kate was a convenience with excellent benefits. People assume I'm a walking disaster and treat me like a dare, tempting me to prove them right. But Jenny didn't look like a dare. She looked like something dangerous the kind that makes you better or ruins you, and I was curious which one she'd be. I knocked on the door to her apartment. I shouldn't have, nosiness disguised as neighborly courtesy but curiosity is one hell of a driver. Her father opened, tired lines creasing his face. He was polite, careful. He answered my questions in half-sentences and sat me down like he was measuring me. I introduced myself as "Damon. Next door." Polite, enough charm to be infuriating, not enough to be friendly. Jenny came out of the kitchen holding a cup of tea like it was an anchor. She didn't smile. Didn't offer to be nice. "Hi," she said, and that was it. A single syllable that probably felt like an insult to me, but it didn't. It was honest. "Welcome to the building," I offered, the practiced line that got bored women and men alike. She set the mug down and looked at me like I was the one out of place. "You too," she replied. "Thanks for the… entertainment, today." "Entertainment?" I repeated, amused. "You made me lose my seat." "You chose to sit on a stranger's spot. Who cares who sits where?" She shrugged like it was nothing and I almost laughed because it was the last thing I expected her to do... treat me like any other boy. She turned away to leave, and something inside me tugged like a challenge I'd been handed and couldn't refuse. "Jenny?" She paused, not turning. "Yes?" "Be careful," I said. "New York chews people up." She looked back at me then, and for the first time there was something like pity in her eyes, and something sharp beneath it. "I'm already used to being chewed up," she said quietly. "I'm not the one you'd bet on." And with that, she left while I stood in the hallway for a beat longer.