That boy (1)

One year ago…

"Woah! Isn't that the latest phone with a high-end front and back camera?" Karen said as she eyed the phone in Liam's hand. His friends crowded in front of him too, trying to get a glimpse of the latest smartphone model he bought.

"Is this the one that you've been wanting to get for the longest time?"

"No way, this is really the latest model in my hands!"

Liam chuckled. "It is."

He saved up a lot of his salary to get a new phone. Unless it was a basic necessity or stuff needed for his studies, his parents did not provide luxurious things often. If he wanted something, he had to work hard for it. Work was what he did, taking more shifts, despite his hectic college schedule. It was difficult to juggle his work and studies, especially adjusting to university life, but he was thankful to his cousin for being an understanding boss.

While he usually paints, he was obsessed with taking pictures lately. He wanted to try it out. But instead of splurging on high-end cameras, he thought he would dabble with phone cameras first. His old phone had an outdated camera that photos turned pixelated, and it frustrated him to no end when a picture-perfect scene passed him by because he could not take a proper shot from his camera. When he had enough savings, he decided to go ahead and buy a new phone.

"Let me take your pictures," he said and his friends willingly obliged. They were bored, and their professor was running late today. Liam did some studying the night before, so he had time to spare. They took a lot of photos and selfies ranging from serious to wacky shots until they grew bored again.

While his friends conversed among themselves, Liam tried other things to shoot, namely, his books, watch, even his pen. When those were no longer enough, he pointed his camera around the hall, just randomly taking pictures of anything he came across.

It was at that moment when his camera caught one of his classmates. He was looking outside, unaware of the noise around him. Unaware of Liam.

He was beautiful.

Before Liam knew what he was doing, his fingers hovered at the capture button and snapped a photo.

The shutter sound cut through his trance, and the sudden realization of what he just did hit him. He hid his phone right away and faced forward, mentally cursing himself for forgetting to turn off the sound of the damned thing.

On the outside, he looked calm and unaffected, but inside, he was itching to take a look at his phone. It was probably not wise to do that. Not when there was a risk that any of his friends might get a glimpse of his screen.

'Just one more look then…'

He looked over his shoulder discreetly as though he was only scanning his surroundings and not searching for that pretty boy. The guy was reading his books now, but Liam could still see his face, and he could not help but stare some more.

That beautiful face.

He swallowed. Who was he? Why did he only notice this person now? How many other classes do they take together that Liam failed to take notice of him before? How many other chances passed him by when he could have gotten to know the other guy?

"What are you looking over there?" Karen glanced behind them. A couple of their friends followed her.

Terrified that they would be noticed, Liam hastily said, "Nah, a lot of students take this class huh?"

"The professor's notorious, but he's pretty good. That's why he's popular."

His friends fell into another discussion about their professor, but Liam's mind was stuck to that boy. Even when the lecture started, all he could think about was him.

'Focus Liam. Focus,' he thought but found himself focusing on other things.