Chapter:1

LILY'S POV

I jolted awake to the sound of my phone ringing, half asleep and disoriented. I picked up my phone to see that Ava was calling me. I could hear panic in her voice as she asked "Where are you?!" more like she shrieked through the phone. I glanced at my watch and realized it was already 9:35 anddd oh godd I had overslept and was running late for my first day of University. I scrambled out of bed, hastily grabbing the outfit I had picked out the night before. In just 10-15 minutes, I managed to get ready and dashed out the door, giving it my all to make it to class on time as i reached the university and was sprinting towards my class , Suddenly a tall guy appeared in front of me from nowhere clashing right into me because everything happened so fast i didn't have time to avoid him as a result, we both fell to the ground. As I squeaked in pain and hurriedly got up from the floor, cheeks burning with embarrassment, I quickly dusted myself off. My hand throbbed from the scratch, but I couldn't dwell on it for long. The guy was still staring at me, his eyes locked on mine without even blinking. I stuttered out an apology, feeling my face turn even redder.

Without wasting another moment, I sprinted off towards my class, hoping to escape the awkwardness of the situation. It was like a scene straight out of a rom-com, but this was my real life, and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of impression I had made on him. "Ehhhhhh"I'll definitely have to avoid any more clumsy encounters like that in the future!..

As I scurried to my feet, and reached my seat Ava's eyes widened in disbelief. "Lily, you're late on the first day of university? And what happened to your hand?" she gasped.

"I know...I know, I overslept," I confessed, as my voice was filled with regret. "And then, while I was rushing to class, I collided into someone and fell" I winced, feeling the pain sting in my hand.

"Your eyes grow behind your back or something?" Ava shouted, her voice filled with both concern and amusement. "That must be the reason you always fall!" she exclaimed. As me and ava got to talking and I explained what happened to Ava, our teacher, Mrs. Stella, arrived. We quickly took our seats, and she began taking our roll call and teaching us. It was at that moment I realized my glasses were missing. They must have fallen off when I clashed into that mysterious guy earlier. Thankfully, I always keep an extra pair with me. After the period when the bell rang, Ava and I headed to our lockers to get our books ready for the next class. It was nice to have a friend like Ava by my side, even on the most chaotic of days.

As we stood by the locker, Ava excitedly shared some news with me. Guess what, she shrieked happily ? calm down what happened!? I asked with excitement, and she happily said that she had been selected for the university basketball team. My eyes widened with surprise as she had put in a lot of effort to get into it. She is always full of energy, and loves being involved in games and other activities. We're definitely different in that aspect. Me? Well, I'm more of a bookworm. I love getting lost in the pages of a good novel whenever I have some free time. You know what, though? Being a bookworm is pretty cool. People at university might think I'm always stuck in my novels, but that's just because they don't understand the magic of reading. It's like having a whole new world right at your fingertips.

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 After school ended, Ava told me that she had basketball practice after school today, and I might have to walk home alone. As I checked the time, I realized it was still early, and her practice wouldn't last more than an hour. So, I decided to wait and sit by the bleachers while she did her thing. We've been friends since childhood, and I've never missed any of her practice matches. As I sat on the bleachers, engrossed in my novel, out of nowhere, a basketball smacked me right on the head! Instinctively, I raised my hand to protect myself and let out a loud shriek "AAAHHHHHHH!" as i gained back my composure I saw a guy running towards me. He looked so familiar, like I've seen him somewhere before.

He hurriedly picked up the ball and came beside me, scratching his head and asked with concern. "If I was, okay?" and "if I got hurt anywhere seriously and would like to be taken to the infirmary". He swore it wasn't on purpose. At that time I couldn't help but just stare at him, trying to figure out where I knew him from, when i remembered that he was the guy who I had collided into this morning at that time i didn't have the time to see him properly now that I can "He possessed the appearance of a Greek god, standing tall at around 6'3 feet, with dark blue ocean eyes, a cascade of messy hair, and a smile so bright it could outshine anything. As I was lost in my gaze, a pair of hands shook me, jolting me back to reality. It was quite a wake-up call! The guy apologized for accidentally hitting me with the basketball, and then, with a peculiar expression on his face, he also apologized for the morning accident as my eyes almost fell out of the sockets "he remembers me..oh god that is so embarrassing", he continued as i was busy with my trail of thoughts , Before I could respond, his teammates called for him, and he made his way back to the basketball team. Casting one last look over his shoulder, he locked eyes with me, sending butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I turned my attention back to the court where Ava was practicing, Where everyone had halted their activities and turned to look at us . The entire situation felt like an unsolved puzzle. Feeling a bit clueless, I decided to brush it off and return to my unfinished novels.

 After the game on our way back home Ava suddenly asked "Have you met Jake?" with a questioning look, My brows furrowed as I responded, "Who's Jake?" Confusion lingered on my face, and Ava continued, "The guy you were chatting with earlier – he's Jake, the captain of our university's men's basketball team." As the pieces fell into place, I recalled the encounters from the day. Armed with this newfound knowledge,I just nodded and told her that he was the guy who I had clashed with this morning and he was just apologizing for the same. After that we started to have a conversation about finding a new apartment to which i told Ava that Yes I had found a new apartment and we could shift into it by this weekend 'Really that's fantastic said Ava as we reached the dorm and bid goodbye to each other , But that wasn't all I also had one more surprise planned for her which i was not planning to tell until after some days .

LATER

While I was busy preparing for the next day's classes and doing my homework i started to think about Jake and how everything about him was so charismatic, it looked like he just walked out of a fantasy novel while i was busy thinking suddenly my phone rang to which my attention was diverted. Who might be calling this late….

As I checked my phone for notifications, my mind still filled with thoughts of Jake, I stumbled upon messages from none other than Ava, who was inviting me to join her for the upcoming men's basketball tournament. I pondered over it for a moment, and finally, agreed. It could be my only chance to get close to Jake and watch him play up close!