Hey my lovely readers!!! Here's another chapter. Hope you guys enjoy and lemme know your thoughts.

Stay safe. God bless you guys always and have a great day ahead.

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AJ's POV

There was a timid boy standing against the wall, looking at Lizzie with fear. He was trying to explain things to her but she kept yelling at him. This boy. I've never seen him before. He wore big square glasses, a plain dark grey T-shirt and blue jeans. He also wore black sandals to go with his plain outfit. His dark brown hair was cut short. I couldn't see his eye color yet but he had a pleasant looking face. He was plain but to me he didn't look like any other average guy. This one was different.

He was.....cute.

Cute?

Where did that come from?  I blinked and stared at the stranger again.

Oh dear Lord what the hell was I feeling?

"Hey what's wrong? If you changed your mind let's get out of here." Noah's voice brought me out of my reverie, making me focus on what I had to do next.

"If you want me just fucking say it you pathetic dork!! Everybody already knows it!! What? You're not man enough to face me?! So you didn't let him go out with me?!" Lizzie screeched.

"Whoa, it....it w..wasn't like that... " The boy tried again but she cut him off.

"Like what loser?" Her stupid friends laughed like she made a joke. "I am going to put an end to your useless-"

"Get away from him."

That's when all eyes turned to me. Lizzie's eyes widened for a split second but she managed to pull it together.

"Oh look, another nerd. What do you want? This doesn't concern y-"

"I said get away from him. Now." I said lowly, staring directly at her.

"Who the fuck-"

"I am not going to ask you again. It's obvious that your maturity growth is stunted but I bet you can still understand basic English. So back the fuck away from him." Lizzie gaped at me. All I heard were oooh's and whoaaa's. These airheads really had nothing better to do. Her friends didn't even try to help her.

"Lizzy you're not moving an inch," I raised a brow at her, daring her to piss me off even more. Surprisingly, she took a step towards me.

"You watch your back AJ. You're digging a hole in the ground for yourself." She then raised her hand to probably hit me but I was quick. I held her wrist and slightly twisted it to stop her. Of course Lizzie screamed as if I broke her arm in two. Instead of prolonging the drama, I roughly let go of her, causing the spoilt narcissist to stumble back two steps.

"That warning was so lame, I'm not even going to reply to that. So go away. Like now. Before I cause some real damage." She furiously stomped away with her heels but not before glaring at me and the boy.

"Shows over!!" Noah yelled at the now slightly bigger crowd. And just like that everyone left. "AJ now that you're safe, I have to go. My next class starts at two."

"Alright, see you tomorrow Noah. Thanks for waiting." He nodded and left.

I turned to look at the boy who was staring at me without blinking.

"You alright?" I asked while I gestured for us to leave the place.

"I...I am now. Because of you." He gave me a grateful smile. I looked down afraid that I would blush or something. He was really, really cute. Thank goodness my friends weren't here right now. Wanting to make the situation normal for me I casually looked at the cutie.

"What's your name?"

"Ah, Eli. Eli Henderson. What's your name?"

"I'm AJ and I've never seen you around here?"

"It's a big University AJ and I've just started my second year in mechanics."

"That explains it. I'm studying biochemistry."

"That's cool. You know I wish I'd met you sooner. What you did back there was brave and really admirable. There should be more people like you."

Okay now there was no way I could hide my blush. His voice sounded so sweet and genuine. Damn.

"Thank you. I do hope you stand up to her some day." I say as we walked passed the cafe.

"That would be difficult but I'll try next time. It's just, I'm not a fighter."

"That's okay. Standing up to someone and fighting are two different things."

"Yeah, you're right."

"So why did she want to kill you?" He adjusted his glasses and laughed at my question.

"She's been wanting this boy for a long time. And she keeps saying that they planned to go out last night and I somehow destroyed the plan."

"Did you?" I asked him.

"I don't even know what she's talking about! I mean I didn't know about anything and...."

"And now she's on to you. So much drama."

"I know right. I'm glad you came to my rescue. So, um....I'll see you around?" He shyly spoke as he turned the other way.

"Yeap. Sure. Bye." I awkwardly waved at him with a stupid smile on my face. Thank goodness again for the absence of my friends.

Turning to my left I walked out of campus.

Alright AJ, you're gonna have lunch, sleep and forget about Mr.Cutie. It's not gonna happen. You're probably not going to see him again. He's in a whole different building. He's studying a whole different course and you simply don't have the time.

No!

I kept giving my brain excuses so that I would bury this cliché emotion which I did not understand and hopefully get rid of it. Going after guys is not something I waste my time doing. It's not me!

"A...are you okay?"

Cora?

I blinked at her and then stared at my surroundings. I stood in the doorway with one hand on the doorknob. Well that was a quick walk.

"Yeap. All good. I'm starving." I threw my bag on the floor and hanged my jacket over my chair.

"How was your class?"

"All good. Good meaning boring. As usual." I muttered while I took off my shoes. Our room was quite spacious for two people. Two single beds, two cabinets, two study tables with chairs and a toilet which was separated from the bathroom. Not like most of the crampy hostels out there.

That day, after a great lunch and a long nap, Cora and I studied for a quiz. Even though they were different subjects, we helped each other out.

That night Willow, Cora and I watched two movies on Netflix and went to sleep. Willow accidentally fell asleep in our room. Her room was right next to ours but we just didn't want to wake her up.

Later in the wee hours of the morning, I dreamt of a certain cute nerd.

~~~~~~~~~~

"AJ? AJ wake up. Come on AJ wake up, you're going to be late." I heard a faraway voice and felt the most irritable nudging.

"W...what time?" I groggily asked. Truth be told, I didn't know where I was or what was going on.

"It's ten and your class starts at eleven. So wake up and get ready. Oh, your name is AJ, you're currently in the dorm room and you need to get to campus where you're studying biochemistry." Cora recited. She did this on purpose, every time I had morning classes. I didn't stop her. When I sleep, I really sleep. Like total blackout. And I always wake up feeling disoriented. I try to think of ten goals I would achieve if I just got out of bed and then I think whether or not those goals were worth achieving.

"AJ. Up. Now."

"Hmmm." I dragged my body out of bed and forced myself into the bathroom. I already wasted fifteen minutes on the bed. This sucks. Why did morning classes even existed?

Why do I have to go?

Do I really have to go?

I shook my lazy thoughts away and started to brush my teeth and wash myself.

Twenty minutes later, I was wearing my shoes. I chose a simple outfit for the day. A black body fitting t-shirt, black jeans and a blue hooded denim jacket.

I saw Willow snoring on Cora's bed so Cora was now lying on my bed. Why the hell do they get to lay on the beds?

"What time is your class?"

"Two," Cora smirked at me and snuggled against my comforter. "Oh, and Willow's class got cancelled."

"How wonderful," I flatly replied.

"Hey did anything interesting happened yesterday?" Sparkling dark brown eyes flashed across my mind. Stop it!!

"Huh? No. Why?" I quickly reached for my sling bag.

"Um....you were smiling in your sleep."

FUCK!

"You've never done that before. Like ever. Honestly, that made me smile too and I just wanna know if something happened. You acted a little weird yesterday too. When you opened the door." She squinted her eyes at me.

"Um, nothing that interesting actually. It was a normal day."

Nope. I met the cutest guy ever and my heart is racing now that you reminded me of him!!

"Maybe I was extra happy because I told Lizzie to back off?"

"Oh God AJ, stay away from that girl. She's nothing but trouble. Promise me you wouldn't go near her today." I felt bad for hiding information from Cora....wait a minute!! Nothing happened so I'm not hiding anything!!

"Owh would you look at the time!! Gotta go Cora! Bye. No promises." With that I left the room and speed walked all the way to campus.

Today's class was biology. I simply tolerate this subject. Apparently, Noah likes biology. A lot.

"Damn look at those organs. Don't you just wanna cut them open and figure out all its secrets? Then cut them into smaller parts and solve their mystery particle by particle?"

"Not really, Noah." He made me worry sometimes.

I didn't see him today and I was quite bumped about it. Pffft, I met the guy once and now look at me. I don't even recognize myself. Why do I yearn to see him again?

"AJ!!"

"What?"

"Stop dozing off! You've been like this since morning. What's up?"

"Nothing I just remembered I had to go to the....the bakery!" Actually that wasn't a lie. I really had to go to the bakery nearby our campus. Not to buy anything but to bake. Yes, I help the owners Mr and Mrs Quinton. They own a warm, welcoming bakery two streets away. I go there at least three or four times a week to help out and they pay me accordingly.

It's not that I have to work to earn. I have enough money for myself. Plus, I'm an only child so my parents support me financially. In every way.

I work because I love baking. It's calming, and it makes me forget about all the stuff that I don't want to think about. When I bake, I feel at home and having a homely feeling, to me is everything.

"I have to go. See you tomorrow or maybe we could all meet up for dinner?"

"Dinner is cool. See you guys at seven thirty. Have fun baking and text me where we're eating at."

"I will! Bye!" I shouted over my shoulder and walked out the main entrance.

Just as I was about to take a left and step on the side walk, I heard a loud honk and the roaring sound of a motorbike engine. I instinctively jump onto the side walk and backed away from the black monstrous thing that so nearly missed me. The only thing I felt was the blast of wind that shook me to the core. The sound of the break was nothing compared to my heartbeat that was pounding in my head. I placed a hand on my chest to calm myself.

At the speed it was coming at, my injuries would have been fatal if the bike had hit me. And it missed me by a fucking inch.

"Watch where you're going idiot!"

Oh the nerve of this guy.

I marched up to the duo and stood in front of the bike, effectively blocking their way.

I glared at the rider. I couldn't see his face but that didn't matter. I knew he could see me through the tinted helmet of his and that was enough.

"Look here asshole!! How stupid can you honestly get?! Who the fuck even gave you a licence to ride a bike huh? Your father?! There's a yellow line that clearly means you can't ride in it!! Thank God you didn't hit me just now but imagine if you did hit an innocent pedestrian! Imagine killing someone due to your ignorance and stupidity!! Not worth it! Damn you, blockhead!!" I yelled and stormed off. The pillion rider wasn't even wearing a helmet so I recognized him immediately. I flipped him off before walking away.

I heard the rider muttering some shit under his breath but I didn't stop to listen.

~~~~~~

At the bakery.

"Hey Ms.Winnie. Sorry I'm late." I walked over to the elderly lady and greeted her. She gave me a sweet smile which looked tender on her slightly wrinkled face. Her curly grey hair was tied in a neat bun and she had an apron over her floral print dress.

"It's not a busy day and you don't have to apologize. We appreciate your help dear."

"I love doing it, you know that."

"Oohh," her eyes widened in excitement.

Oh boy.

"We changed the oven. Bernard!!" She yelled for her husband.

"What is it?!" Another voice came from the back kitchen.

"AJ is here! Show her how to work the oven!"

"Alright, tell her to come here!" I showed Mrs Quinton a thumbs up and walked towards the kitchen.

"Oooooh, shiny." I admired the new dark maroon oven set. It was much bigger and more modernized.

"Actually, you don't need me to show you anything right?" The elderly man asked while pointing at all the buttons at the side of the oven. It was pretty straightforward buttons so I waved a hand and got ready to start baking.

While I was busy making the third batch of pandan flavored cupcakes, Mrs.Quinton waltzed in with an unreadable glint in her eyes. I bet she's bored.

"Wanna try a cupcake?"

"No thank you. I'm sure they taste splendid as always." I smiled at her compliment.

"So, how's campus life?"

"It's good. Some subjects are boring and some drive me nuts but everything else is fine." Mrs.Quinton groaned making me to look at her with concern.

"I asked about your campus LIFE and all you can talk about are the subjects? Why do you think I even care?! You're Einstein's cousin! I want some real news AJ. Don't you ever do anything besides studying?"

"I yell at people. Like all the time." I muttered while adding butterscotch cream on the cupcakes.

"Don't you go to parties? Drink? Make out? Have fun?!"

"I do have fun," I stared at her blankly. Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?

"Okay then, tell me how."

"I go out with my friends. I watch Netflix. I eat and...and...I get into arguments and..yeah that's fun too you know."

"AJ-"

"Oh yeah! I also work here. How cool is that?"

"Working in a bakery?" She asked, unimpressed.

"What's up with you today Winnie the Pooh? Why the interrogation?"

"I'm just asking. I want you to experience life." She said with that familiar concern that irked me.

"I'm not most people alright. I have been to parties and it's not that great. I drink with my friends but I don't see what's so awesome about getting so drunk to the point of throwing up and sleeping with strangers. I mean yeah I guess I could be doing all that but I just.....it doesn't excite me as much as it excites other people and besides life is so much more than all that." I sighed and proceeded to take the last batch of cupcakes out of the oven.

"I know it's hard to understand-" I felt a warm hand over mine.

"It's not hard anymore. I thought you were one of those kids who spends all their time studying and trying to obtain the perfect score. And once their university life is over, they realize that they missed so much and there will be nothing they can do about it. I just thought you never tried doing anything else other than studying and baking but now I get it. This is who you prefer to be. Now I'm at peace," she wiped fake sweat out of her forehead.

I gave her a tight smile and proceeded to decorate the cupcakes with edible items like small flowers, pearls, teddy bears and much more. Mrs.Quinton helped by choosing from the various set of colors.

"If it makes you feel any better, Willow got us an invite to a party next week." I grumbled.

"And you don't like it?"

"Yup. Noah would be hitting on girls, Willow will be doing God knows what with her boyfriend, Cora will be taking care of someone who had too much to drink and I'll be busy staring at people from the couch." I ended. Maybe I'll come up with an excuse for not going.

"You don't go to a party and sit on the couch silly girl. Socialize. Who knows, maybe you'll meet a special someone!"

"Highly doubtful." I mumbled.

"What? You never know if you don't try. Give the guys a chance. Maybe you'll meet someone who can make you truly happy." My mind wandered off to the cute brown eyed nerd again. Eli.

"I don't think he'll like me back," the words were out before I could stop them.

"WHAT?!"

"What?"

"What did you just say?"

"I said you'd definitely like my cupcakes."

"AJ!!"

"What? My work is over already?" I pretended to be shocked. Anything to get myself out of this embarrassing situation. Me and my big, fat, mouth. Now she knows. She knows but she wants me to spill.

"AJ you're not going anywhere until you tell me everything."

See? Told ya. Sometimes I wondered how old Mrs.Quinton actually was. She was acting like a teenager, hungry for a juicy tale.

"Who managed to touch the impenetrable heart of the unreachable, AJ? Who got that close? I need details young woman."

"You're not gonna let this go are you?"

"I'm not that young anymore AJ. Don't stress me out." What?!

"Stress you out?"

"Yes. If you don't tell me, I'm going to go crazy trying to figure it out myself." I rolled my eyes at her. This woman was unbelievable.

Since Mr.Bernard took care of the customers, Winnie the Pooh pulled me out of the kitchen and made me to sit on one of the tables. She comfortably sat opposite me with a big smile on her face.

"Eerrr.....who's gonna arrange the cupcakes?"

"Bernard!!!"

"Isn't this a busy day for him." I crossed my arms.

"Oh shush, just once in a while and he likes working. You don't change the subject." She pointed a finger at me. "Talk to me AJ."

Starting with a pout, a loud groan, and some time wasting stretching, I told her about Eli. The second I started, I was praying that my cheeks weren't turning red. I ended the whole story in about four sentences.

"That's all?"

"Yeah. Sort of. See nothing much happened."

"Nothing's happened yet. Try talking to him again."

"He's doing a whole other course and we won't run into each other much."

"Well, at least get his number and text him. That could be a start," she sweetly suggested. I know she was only trying to help and make me happy but how was I going get his number? Plus, I know that I wouldn't do anything once I have his number.

"He might have a special someone already," I mumbled to myself.

"He almost got killed by another girl!! He's probably famous for getting bullied. The only type of person he needs is a girl like you."

"Really?"

"Of course! Ohh, when you go to the party next week, dress nice. Maybe he'll be there."

"He doesn't seem-"

"You never know. You're not into parties and you're going! Maybe he has a friend like Willow too."

"You're right but I won't get his number and text him. I can't do all of that stuff. I don't know why but eerghh." I ended in annoyance.

"That's alright dear. You're a more face to face type of girl and maybe you'll figure another way. Texting is not always the only option."

"Have I ever told you how much I like you, Ms.Winnie?"

"You can say it over and over again. I don't mind." I laughed at her smug face.

Once she got up to leave, I was thinking about ways in which I could talk to my crush without revealing my identity.

I have issues with boys. First off, I've never even liked any of them before let alone have a crush on one of them.

How AJ, how?

How am I going to communicate?

Does every girl go through this or is it just me?!

With a frustrated sigh I said goodbye to Mr and Mrs Quinton, and left the bakery.

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