"DOVE."

The sun shyly peeked though billowy clouds as though to bid the young girl a lovely morning, casting its warm glow on her lavender skirt.

She lowered her head, studying the pavement as she hurried through campus, cheeks tinted red and fingers latched onto her bag. She wished she could enjoy the beautiful weather—but she couldn't.

"You're one of my top students. The presentation layout was flawless, and your structured points were excellently made."

Dove tucked back a tendril of her vanilla-blonde hair, searching for the familiar sight of her dorm building. Despite the bright, cerulean sky, she could see nothing but the gray bitterness twisting inside her ribcage.

"I found, however, that your performance was lacking."

Dove miserably flattened the edges of her skirt, mortification searing into her. It had taken all her will to not run away as she stood in front of her stern professor just twenty minutes ago, his words echoing and ringing in her ears.

Stupid, so stupid, she scolded herself as she quickened her steps. Why couldn't she do better? Was it really so hard to speak up and be confident? To not stammer and blush whenever someone even looked her way?

She let her light hair fall in front of her face as she walked back to her dorm, the remnants of Professor Chen's stern voice replaying in her head. She tightened her grip, brows furrowed, determined to make a change for once in her life. Just speak louder. Just stand taller. Just be anything other than who you really are.

Of course, that was easier said than done.

Dragging her feet against the pavement, Dove ignored the light shower of rain washing away the pretty clouds. The elevators were terribly slow in her dorm building, so she huffed her way up the stairs, fumbling for her keys. She clutched her back, searching vigorously. Before she could panic, however, the door swung open.

"The keys are around your neck," the girl on the other side deadpanned. Her tone was dry and unsurprised; it was obvious that Dove misplacing her keys was a common occurrence.

Dove lifted a hand to her neck, feeling the cold chain brush against her pulse. She bit her lip and looked up, offering the other girl a sheepish smile. "I forgot."

"I know." Areum rolled her eyes and opened the door wider for her, flicking back her sleek, jet-black hair. "Bad day?"

"How could you tell?" Dove slid past her roommate, shrugging off her cardigan. "Is it obvious?"

"You wear your feelings on the tips of your sleeves. It's written all over your face." Areum nodded towards the kitchen. "My umma sent some kimchi over. I made buchimgae if you want some."

Dove brightened. One of the perks of being friends with Areum was that the Korean-American girl showed her love through her food.

"I need to study for a psych test. Could I..." Dove guiltily trailed off.

Areum snapped her fingers, but her annoyance was light and playful. "I knew you would say that. Besides, I already ate." She crossed over to the microwave and brought out a plate of the Korean pancake, still steaming and hot. "You can take this to your room."

"I'm sorry. It must be lonely to eat by yourself," the girl apologized, even as her fingers itched to take the plate and her stomach growled at the thick, pan-fried batter with kimchi, eggs, and onion.

Areum softened. "It's fine." She pushed the plate into Dove's hands and ushered her to your room. "Good luck with... studying." She shuddered.

Dive hid a smile and turned to her room, hearing Areum shuffle to the couch and plop down with a great sigh. Gently closing the door, she gazed at the light pink wallpaper of her room. At the books strewn across her bed. The papers scattered all over her small desk.

Pushing the papers aside, Dove brought a forkful of the mouthwatering pancake to her lips, opening up a large textbook. Pulling her notebook towards her, she opened it to her recent notes and stared.

The neatly written words blurred in her vision.

After one hopeless hour of polishing off the buchimgae and willing herself to start studying, Dove gave up.

She grabbed another jacket and stood up, glancing outside. The sky had darkened already, and she could hear the light snores of her roommate from the next room.

After placing a blanket over the sleeping girl on the couch, Dove slipped outside, relishing the crisp, cold air. There was only one destination in mind as she marched forward.

The campus library.

Despite the welcome breeze in the air, Dove still shivered and hurried forward, softly sighing with relief when she spotted the grand doors to the library. She pulled them open, and immediately, the smell of crisp pages and new books assaulted her senses. She half-smiled. It smelled like home.

She nodded at the girl behind the counter before hurrying to the back corner of the library—which took some time, considering the size of the space.

Considering that this was a university library, the collection of children's books was small. Nevertheless, it was Dove's favorite section out of all the poetry and fiction sections. Children's books were sweet and light. They helped her forget the burdens of the world.

She brushed her knuckles along the spines of the colorful books, ignoring the strange look of another student and her daughter sitting at a nearby table. Instead, pulling out several of her childhood favorites, she retreated further into the library, where it was hard to be seen.

Then she sat down.

And read.

Her fingers scrabbled to flip the pages and her eyes feasted on the explosion of colors and simple dialogue.

She couldn't get enough.

Even after her legs ached from being in the same direction and her eyes became bleary from tiredness, she couldn't stop. She wouldn't stop.

It wasn't until the pile of books were all finished that Dove stood and stretched, eyes seeking for more books.

A bright yellow spine caught her eye.

She curiously wandered over to the shelf, noting with dismay that the book sat proudly high up and out of her reach. She stood for a moment, wondering what to do.

Then, with a small shrug, the young girl reached up on her tippy-toes, fingers seeking to brush against the yellow spine. She bit her lip in concentration, wobbling as she tried to keep her balance.

A warm hand brushed against hers, gently guiding her and grabbing the yellow book with ease.

Dove bit back a gasp. Someone stood at her back, his breath tickling her ear as he placed the book in her hands.

She whirled around, her cheeks flushed and pink. A stranger stood in front of her, so close that their chests brushed and Dove's back hit the shelf. His hand was still in the air, and became tangled in her hair as she turned, and she caught her breath with wonder.

The book tumbled from her hands.

He slowly tilted his head and studied her, something unreadable in his gaze. Dove felt intimidated in his almost-embrace, and she had to crane her head to meet his eyes. Tingles skittered down her spine and butterflies exploded in her chest. She felt suddenly warm.

He carefully untangled his fingers from her hair. "It looked like you needed some help." He paused to look down at her again, his murmur close by her ear. Dove shuddered.

"Thank you," she finally managed to get out, wanting to bolt from his embrace.

Wanting to stay in his arms even more.

She brushed away the longing and stared up at him. His eyes, dark and serious, flickered to her blush as he passed her the book.

"You're welcome."

..
and that's the first chapter. i didn't edit it at all (sorry!) so id love some feedback on the reading experience. what do you look forward to or expect in reading this story?
-ivyxx