[Daffodil] : rebirth, new beginnings 

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Mia 17, Connor 19

I've always been a dreamer, and I got burnt because of it millions of times before...However, life never left me in ashes.  

It reminds me a lot of my ballet performances: a sequence of twirling, falling down, standing up on my feet, and trying again... and again, and again.

My feet would bleed, my mascles would give in, but yet there I was, dancing in my room with a huge smile until I'd feel complete again.

Ballet for me has never been about being perfect, it's always been a way of meditation, a release, a way to clear my head and think. It's always been my kind of art, my joy, and my escape. I wasn't dancing because I had to, I was dancing because I wanted to, because I couldn't not dance. 

Maybe that's why I didn't bat an eyelid when I finally quit my ballet classes at the age of fourteen. The thing is however thin I'd be, however much I'd try, my trainer was just never happy with me, and I was never into becoming a professional ballerina anyway, so the decision came to me naturally.

Well, of course, I could have handled it more professionally than staring at my trainer with a blank face and telling her to "go eat dirt".

Anyway, I hated those classes, but I LOVED closing my eyes, standing on my toes, and improvising, I loved not following the rules as I danced to my favorite songs. As I danced for him.

I loved loving ballet and hated to think about hating it, if that makes sense. And I'd definitely hate it if I didn't quit those freaking classes back then.

It made me love ballet more since then I was free to dance however I wanted to - in the rain, in front of my mirror, with my eyes closed, to my fairytale or R&B songs.

It was just my ballet and me, without responsibilities, commitment, and any care in the world.

However, it didn't last very long. 

"Hey," I hear my boyfriend Jack whisper in my ear, making me jump out of my skin, right back into reality.

I blink confused, as he throws an arm over my shoulder, before planting a kiss on my cheek.

"What are you staring at?" He asks before I can block the poster from him, though I try. I sneak out of his hold, and face him, shielding it with my body.

"There's going to be a ballet competition next month?" He asks, picking behind my shoulder. "Whoever still goes to those? Although, I'd give big money to see you in a tutu dress. " He adds chuckling.

I roll my eyes at him, not amused at all. Of course, Jack doesn't know I dance, but even if he doesn't, he's being a total jackass right now.

I mean it's ballet! It's art! It never gets old, it's a masterpiece.

"A lot of people, Jack," I tell him, my face blank. "A lot of people actually pay good money, not just to see girls in tutu dresses, but to enjoy art."

He gives me a suspicious glance, and for a second there I think he might actually ask something smart this time, or I don't know correct himself, but then he surprises me again.

"Alright, who's pissed in your parade, Mia?" He asks eyes on me, making me growl.

"YOU!" I want to scream, but magically hold back, so I growl instead, telling him to forget it, as I make my way to my locker.

"So, what's up?" He asks, catching up with me and throwing an arm around my shoulder again.

As far as I know, my second period is supposed to be Modern Literature. I mean I hope that's it because if not it would be a bummer. It's my second day at Yale and I'd not like to have professors go all ninja on me so soon.

I have really worked my ass off to get into here, and so have Jack and my best friend Sydney.

As three kids from Atlanta, it's been our dream to study in New York together, though each of us is going for another profession.

I've been wanting to study here for as long as I can remember myself because my Mom did and she was my hero. And so now we are here -me, Jack and Syd, in New York, studying with students from all around the world, trying to mix with the crowd and get used to the crazy city.

"Me since 6 AM, because the traffic is terrible," I answer grabbing the book for the next lesson and closing the door of my locker. Turning around in Jack's arms I try to keep my distance while trying not to look suspicious.

Here is the thing, Jack and I have been friends since middle school when he moved into our city. I always thought of him as a best friend (after Syd, and someone I don't even want to mention, of course) who kicked ass in football and basketball, but at the beginning of our senior year, he kissed me all out of blue during our dance at the school masquerade.

IN FRONT OF EVERYONE'S FREAKING EYES!

God, it was so embarrassing, because I didn't even see it coming and so I didn't know what I should do.

But as I was standing there in shock, he went up on the stage, grabbed a microphone, and asked me out. Not wanting to embarrass him more and gain the status of a cruel bitch for me I smiled and agreed. I still feel my cheeks turn red with embarrassment every time I remember that horrifying scene.

Yeah, he's my friend, but sometimes he can act really dumb.

After our first official date, I felt like there might be a slight chance for us to work everything out, for me to like him, I mean he was so sweet and caring. I've never had a boyfriend before, so I had nothing to compare our relationship to, but he was just... not it.

Besides, I didn't want to break his heart by dumping his stupid ass. I mean, seriously he shouldn't have asked me out like that in the first place.

It's not that Jack is ugly or dumb or terrible in any way. He's smart and hot with his light brown hair and matching eyes, he's great at sports, and wants to major in Political Science. It's just that...Urgh, I DON'T KNOW.

I always feel like he's stolen my first kiss while I was still secretly saving it for someone else... someone who never wanted it, but that's beyond the point.

In a way, I feel like by stealing my first kiss, he woke me up from my dream. And I hated the feeling. 

See, I actually like Jack as a guy and I do really love him as a friend, but I'm not IN LOVE with him. There is no chemistry, connection and no common interests other than Chinese food. He doesn't even get why I'm obsessed with FRIENDS (the TV show, not my friends, duh), which is more of a turn-off. I don't want him to love it, but I want him to respect that I do, indulge me and not tease me about it.

I have always been a believer in sparks (unicorns, Greek mythology and aliens too as we are at it), but we don't have that together.

So that's probably why I am standing here now thinking how and when to break it off with Jack so that he doesn't get hurt.

I don't want to lose his friendship, but I can't do this anymore either. Jack will always have a place in my heart, but I'm not the one for him and neither is he for me.

"Should we get a bike for you?" He asks before putting a short kiss on my lips. I pull away quickly, but not TOO quickly which would make me look suspicious.

"I was actually thinking about it. Anyway, I think I'm being late, Jack," I answer smiling. "See you later."

Pulling back, I turn on my heels and mix with the crowds, making my way to class.

"Still want to break up with him?" I hear a voice and feel a familiar arm wrap around mine. Looking to my right I see my redhead walking next to me.

"Yup," I nod at Sydney. "Just don't know exactly how, yet. I don't want to break his heart."

"I have always told you to go ahead and just say "Sorry dude, I'm not interested in your banana anymore, " I narrow my eyes at her for her choice of words, but she doesn't seem to notice it as she goes on, "Actually I NEVER was, so go find some other boobs to ogle at."

"I will never get why you hate him so much."

"Because he is a freaking dumbass. Who asks a girl out like that? You should have shoved your no right up his ass."

"Jesus, you are horrible!" I exclaim removing her arm around my shoulder.

"No Mia, Jesus is good."

"You know what I meant," I push her shoulder with mine as we enter our next class together through the already opened doors. There are some students here already, chatting away.

"Whatever," she murmurs as we make our way to two vacant seats behind each other.

After we place our stuff on the desks, she turns back to face me.

"Heard about the hot guy?" Syd asks her voice excited.

"What guy?" I furrow my eyebrows. For God's sake we have been here for just a day, was I supposed to?

"Apparently they call him Trouble," she says now in a whisper.

"Trouble? I thought we graduated from kindergarten last year."

"Well, the guy has got a reputation. Rumour has it, he is the only son of some prosecutor and is insanely spoiled. Some say he's even killed someone last year, so he had to cancel college for two or three years."

I roll my eyes, taking a deep breath to deal with my forever gossip-enthusiast-BFF.

"Murder doesn't usually get you two or three years in prison."

"Well, they say he was never convicted. He took some time off to let the rumors die down."

"Just who exactly are 'THEY', Syd," I ask annoyed. "You never know who "they" are, and yet you believe them. Look, some people back at school were even discussing the thousand different ways of how I lost my virginity. And should I mention that I'm STILL as innocent as the Red Riding Hood?"

She makes a thinking face, as she nods.

"You just haven't found your Wolf," She says laughing, making me laugh along with her. "I remember though. Those were very funny couple of months."

"Not if you were me," I tell her chuckling.

"Anyway, he does look dangerously hot though. You should really see him." She whispers screams, eyes sparkling with excitement. "His whole image just screams TROUBLE. It's like you look at him, and you know that he's going to break your heart into a million tiny pieces, and yet, you like the idea of it." For some reason, Syd is still talking in a whisper.

"Why are you whispering?" I ask trying to match her tone.

"I don't know, it makes the whole thing more mysterious," she whispers back and then winks at me while I chuckle at her, shaking my head.

"So you have actually seen him?" I ask, leaning back in my chair. I can't say I'm not intrigued though.

"Yeah, just a glimpse, and I already want him to corner me."

"He can't be that hot." My eyes travel to the door and I notice more students gather in.

"Yeah, keep saying that, you haven't seen the Greek God yet, when you do though, I'm pretty sure you will sound worse. Something between a dinosaur giving birth and a puppy making helpless sounds."

I stare at my best friend, eyes wide.

"Hold still, Syd! I'm trying to imagine you with a funny bone," I say sarcastically, and she chuckles.

"Little bitch." She mumbles right before the professor enters.

Syd gives me a wink before turning around to face ahead of her.

Mr. Harrington (it's what the schedule says) looks like he is in his late 30s or something. Dark hair, tan skin, tall, with a beard. Somehow I can tell from his whole image that he used to be a badass when he was younger.

Everyone sits up, eyes on him, as he walks across the room, drops his laptop on his desk, and turns to us.

"Well, well. Hello to you kids, that now think of themselves as grown-ups just because they are students for almost 2 minutes." I look around myself to see some students roll their eyes while some chuckle or protest.

"You can call me David. The whole sir and mister thing makes me feel older. So," he claps his hands together, leaning on his desk. "Together we're going to discover many Modern Lit works, and appreciate our contemporary authors while they're still alive and healthy."

The class has started for two minutes and I already love it, because I agree with him so much.

Let's take John Green for example, or Haruki Murakami, Colleen Hoover, or Jennifer Niven, and let me not even start with J. K Rowling  or George R. R. martin, because hello, pure legends anyone?

Anyway, all of them write in different genres, but they are all innovators and insanely talented geniuses.

They all have great ideas and their own way of thinking and they all express simple feelings from a completely different angle.

They make you think deeply about things you have never thought about before, they stress the importance of mental health, and raise other important issues. They help you understand the world and the people living in it better.

"I don't demand anything from you_" David is interrupted by some guys from the back saying "Respect, man."

He smiles at them and goes on.

"No demands, just three conditions. One, you can be late as much as you want BUT not absent. Two, express whatever weird or screwed up ideas you have in that head of yours, of course, if it's related to our classes. Don't be shy to say what you think, because everyone is free to have an opinion. Aaaaand three, remember that I am your friend, but even friends have their limits. That's all. So I h_" David is cut off again but this time by the sound of the door being slammed.

I turn my gaze to the door and freeze, a pen in my hand.

It feels like everything in the world turns into a blur, and it's just this stranger walking in with a scowl on his face, and his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans.

He's dressed all in black - dark simple t-shirt, jeans and a pair of black books. His leather jacket is thrown over one shoulder and it feels like it's sticking onto him for dear life. 

His presence is insane, with his impressive height, broad shoulders, and muscular build. It's obvious he is doing some kind of sports or regularly working out. His dark hair is cut short, close to a buzzcut, that matches perfectly with his striking face.

His sharp jawline and straight, intelligent nose add an edge to his already enticing features, while his full lips form into a scowl, speaking of a brooding intensity that both frightens and thrills me. There is an undeniable dark aura surrounding him, a sense of mystery that is drawing me in like a moth to a flame.

"And you are?" I hear David ask, throwing me out of my own head. I hold my breath, waiting for him to answer, to see if his voice is as dark as the air he's brought with him into the room.

He takes his time, to answer as laid back as ever as if he has all the time in the world, as if he isn't the one who's late.

"A student," his voice is deep as he speaks, which sends me into the arms of another cardiac arrest.

"Nice to meet you, A Student. Are you from this class?"

"I believe so," he says his tone bored.

Without another word he makes his way farther inside the room, taking each step confidently as if it's his mansion. I watch him as he walks my way, taking his sweet-sweet time.

The way he carries himself, makes me feel like he's the main character of some story, and all of us are just extras.

As he gets closer, I can finally make out the color of his eyes, and they are dark green... the shade of a forest after a heavy rain. My blood runs cold in my veins because those beautiful eyes... they are emotionless.

The last pair of this kind of green eyes I've seen have been haunting my days and nights for years now, but they were more beautiful, because they were purer, they were alive. They were warm whenever they met mine and they were my home. They were his...

These ones, however, are absolutely cold and foreign.

The closer the guy gets the better I can feel his woody cologne, mixed with some kind of of fresh notes I can't point out.

From up close he looks older, mature than all of the other guys in this room. Or maybe it's his scowl.

I've seen hot guys before, I've seen gorgeous men in my life, but never before have I reacted this way.

My heart is beating so aggressively, it feels like it wants to burst out of my chest and die on the wooden floor.

I don't know what exactly draws me to him, but right now he's all I can see.

I am seconds away from jumping to my feet and trying Joey's "How you doin'?" line on him but decide against it.

Suddenly, without a single warning, those green eyes land on me as he gets closer. I notice him stop dead on his feet for a brief second and furrow his eyebrows with his eyes still on me.

His stare seems to bore right into my soul—piercing yet alluring, as if hinting at deep, dark secrets I am dying to uncover.

After a millisecond he resumes walking toward me, I mean to find a free seat, making me think the whole thing was in my head.

He passes me by as I hold my breath, and I feel him take the seat right behind me. My whole body tenses as I practically imagine his eyes on the back of my head.

I close my eyes for a second, as I try to come back to my senses and not show how affected I am by this intimidating guy.

I try to concentrate on what David is saying, "try" being the keyword here, and I barely catch a couple of words that give me an idea that he's talking about the introduction of the course.

Instead, I can see a pair of eyes that even though their cold expression, now hold something familiar.

My stupid, stupid imagination.

Later, we are all talking about our favorite modern literature pieces when I feel my chair move with a force, making me jump.

I furrow my brows confused, thinking it was an accident, when suddenly my chair moves again.

Did he just kick my chair with his foot?

Twice?

Turning around I see the owner of the two unsettling eyes staring at me hard. He has his eyebrows furrowed again, as if trying to solve a hard puzzle.

"What's your name?" The guy asks without even a simple hi.

Oh-kay, seriously? Hot or not, that's rude.

"Excuse me?" I raise a brow.

I hear him mumble something under his breath, that sounds a lot like "Fucking hell," but I can't be sure.

"I want to know your name," he says now his voice more serious, if that's even possible, as he leans closer to me.

Want? Did he just say that?

"What the hell?" I ask with a glare. Does he think he can be rude just because he's gorgeous?

"It's a simple one word question. I don't have time for small chit-chats."

I look at David for a second and catch him in a hot discussion with most of the students before turning my attention back to the hottie...jackass.

"Do you even know that you're being rude right now?" I tell him, staring at him with one eyebrow raised. "Because if you don't, then you're not paying attention."

"I'm paying attention to your mouth instead." He says with a smirk, letting me know exactly what he means by it.

My jaw drops to the floor, and I feel like I might look like a cartoon character right now. I'm seriously seconds away from punching that smirk off of his face.

"What is your freaking problem? I'm not going to just si_"

"Time's up. Turn around like the good girl that you are," he cuts me off immediately, leaning back in his chair and letting me know the conversation is over.

I stare at him for a second, trying hard not to slap his face.

And to think I even thought of him to be hot. I let out a sarcastic short laugh in complete disbelief.

"Asshole," I mutter to myself and am about to turn back when he leans toward me in a blink of an eye and grabs my arm.

He pulls me to him over the table, careful not to distract attention. And then he just stares into my eyes, our faces way too close.

His eyes study mine, looking for something I can't quite point out. As my whole body covers in goosebumps from his touch, his lips turn into a cold smile, noticing my frozen state.

Clearing my throat, I get a grip on myself and open my mouth to speak.

"Let go, or you won't have an arm anymore," I tell him, my eyes full of rage as I try to free my arm. "I said le_"

Wait!

I cut myself off the same time I stop fighting against his grip.

Because that's when I see it - the small, almost unnoticeable birthmark under his left eye.

My eyes widen in disbelief as they find his again. This time I notice the golden flecks in his green eyes too. The flecks that one can only notice from an uncomfortably close distance.

Dark green eyes with golden flecks and a birthmark under his left eye...

The small pieces of my puzzle slowly fly into their places and form the big picture, like magic.

And then I realize why his eyes are familiar... I realize why out of all the people in the universe he's the one that got me hypnotized from first sight...

I've found him.