𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐥'𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝

And It Begins||1

Scintillant were her eyes. And in that moment, they were magnets, capturing Leith and pulling her in with each magnanimous wink.

"You go to the university, don't you?" The swoon-worthy stranger asked, tilting her head innocently. Her lips were soft, pink like flowers, with straight teeth. Those blue eyes made waves in Leith's mind as she blinked back to focus at her question.

"Uh- yeah," she answered, tripping over her tongue and cursing herself for doing so. "Do you-do you also go to the university?" She asked, in the moment, not realizing how silly of a question it was. Her voice was scattered, constantly repeating the words on her tongue like a record scratch.

Leith wasn't typically like this. Cute people talking to her wasn't something that riled her up- but there was just something about her. Whoever she was. And whatever she was doing in the book store, buying old poetry that made Shakespeare seem like a casual read. She was entranced, interested, desperate to understand the creature before her. To read the stories in her cobalt stare, and hear the words along her teeth.

And then she smiled.

Leith's face instantly heated up like a damn wildfire. She couldn't hide the pink hue nestling over her tanned skin, nor could she ignore the rampant thumping of her heart.

"You're cute," the stranger said, while running her fingers through her chocolate hair. This statement left her fondly, and so easily that Leith almost didn't catch it. "It would be hard to forget someone so cute, especially when you have a marketing class together," she chuckled.

Leith heard nothing beyond 'you're cute'. Not a single word. "I'm cute?" She repeated uncertainly before a spark of realization ignited in her bones. "I'm cute!" She repeated once again, excitement traipsing over her honey voice. Her ears twinged red after her outburst, which had put a smile on the other's lips again. "I'm cute- and you're cute, and we have a marketing class together that I don't usually fall asleep in-" she rambled, on and on until the stranger cleared her throat.

"Yeah, you don't fall asleep and I don't watch Eric Foster throw paper at your head until you wake up," she smirked, sarcasm blatantly strewn about her tone.

Leith scratched the back of her neck, trying to take a deep breath as subtly as one possibly could. She then began to ring up her books, multi tasking as she was still trying to recall her name now that she knew they had class together. "Yeah, Eric," she murmured, laughing awkwardly. "I've known him since kindergarten... he's harmless, mostly anyway."

"He seems it," she replied with a dandelion rhythm of speech. Her lips delicately curved upwards, and she gently thrummed her fingertips across the counter. "You don't remember my name, do you?" She teased.

Leith had mostly gathered herself by now, so she peacefully placed the books in a cloth bag. After savoring the scent of old paper briefly. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, flushed again but not as flustered. Sheepishly, she turned her caramel eyes back to the other girl. "I've only been conscious in that class for a total of ten minutes, honestly the one person I know is Eric."

"Well, now you know another," she countered mirthfully. She placed her hands out, and Leith could just tell how soft and smooth her skin was. And her nails were perfect, not chipped with green polish like her's. "I'm Valerie Hanson," she said. "And you're Leith Gillian, right?"

"Yeah," Leith nodded hastily. She brashly shook Valerie's hand, maybe too roughly on accident. God- this situation would keep her up for days. She didn't think she'd ever recover. "I'm Leith. It's nice to meet you, Valerie."