The last day of mid-semester break is finally here, and none of the two neighbors are happy about the news. Who likes holidays ending anyways, and getting swarmed by assignments and practicals in return?
I need to make good use of my last day. Eugene arranges the books that she has collected throughout the years—which are mostly, personal growth books—into a tote bag ready to be donated.
Her university's hospital is hosting a donation program, in which things such as toys, and books, will be accepted to make patients' stay more enjoyable. And Eugene being Eugene, obviously wants to take part in the charity if that means supporting people's well-being.
She packs at least 6 books that she has read in the past, making sure to remove her annotations neatly.
After putting them into the tote bag, slinging them over her shoulders, and putting on her sneakers, she is finally ready to leave her room.
It doesn't take too long to reach the hospital. Eugene is soon greeted by one of the university staff responsible for the charity event with a positive attitude.
"Whoa! These are good books!" She does a quick browse on Eugene's tote bag, to which the latter replies with a sheepish smile. "Thank you. I don't have children's books though..."
"That's okay! I'm already grateful enough for your generous contribution." She smiles, "And well, most of our patients are students from the university anyway. Your books would be perfect."
"Good to hear." Eugene nods at her, "Would you like me to bring these to the library?"
"That would be great, yes!" The staff is happy to hear how much the girl is willing to cooperate. She gives her the directions with a tiny map that she drew on a yellow sticky note.
Eugene then gives her another nod before walking away with the books, to the library. She isn't expecting a lot of people there since it was still about 11 in the morning. But to her surprise, a young adult is seen in the room, perhaps a university student just like her, staring at the bookshelves.
The male seems to be browsing for books, while his right hand is supported by a cast, and his head is covered with a bandage.
The sight makes Eugene frown.
It's hard for her to see people getting injured, especially young ones.
She can never imagine herself getting injured and having her activities halted—or, if worse, having her dream job or goals taken away from the fatality of the injury.
Eugene slowly makes her way to the bookshelves, and her footsteps catch the male's attention. When he faces her, she's surprised to see how beautiful he is—almost, prince-like.
"Sorry." He apologizes as he moves away from the bookshelf, noticing the huge tote bag filled with books.
"No no, you're good!" Eugene replies in a slight, panicked manner since she doesn't want him to move too much with his injuries.
"You're going to donate books, right?"
"Um. Yeah." She awkwardly replies, as she ends up taking the space that he was previously occupying anyway. "Do you... like reading?"
"I guess." He chuckles lightly in his soft-pitched voice, "I do it when I have free time."
"I see." Eugene says as she takes out the books one by one, "What genre?"
"Poetry."
Her hand stops putting the books, her lips unconsciously curving up into a smile when she hears his preference. "That's..."
"Girly? Yeah I kno—"
"No, that's honestly beautiful." Eugene finishes her sentence and slips the book onto the shelf. "Book genres are never limited to certain genders. Anyone can read whatever they want. Sometimes it's just the society judging, but really, there's no need to conform to them."
After realizing that she ranted a bit, she gasps and looks away in embarrassment.
"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so negative."
But the male doesn't comment on any of her rants. In fact, he too, finds himself smiling at her, happy at the way she views the world.
"It's not negative at all. I love your perspective, actually."
"... Thank you." Eugene returns his smile with one of her own, slightly embarrassed at the compliment that she tries to play it off by brushing her teal-highlighted hair.
He chuckles at her actions, then looks at the books that she has been arranging on the shelves.
"Lots of personal growth books..." He inspects, "Are you a psychology student or something?"
"Haha, how did you know?" Eugene asks, surprised that he just hit the target. He only shrugs, and then gives her another gentle smile, "Lucky guess."
He then keeps on watching the girl, finally finished with arranging all the donated books. Eugene heaves a sigh of relief and happily stares at the shelf, "I hope people will read them."
"Of course, they will." The male takes one of the books, titled Mindset, with his left hand and flips the back to give the synopsis a read. "I'm going to be one of them for sure." Then, he opens the contents to scan through the chapters.
"I'm glad." She then points at the book, "This one's a good one. I think it'll widen your perspective of the world."
"Hard work vs. Talent huh?" He smirks, finding the topic rather interesting, and she nods in confirmation. "Somewhere along that, yes."
"Cool." He speaks. "Let's talk about it next time—if you ever come back to visit this hospital, that is."
"Haha. We'll never know."
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Author's Note: I just updated yesterday I know lmao I doubt I can update next week or in 2 weeks when I'm going to be busy with family matters. That's why, just in case, Imma just update now HFASDFHASDLJKFH (and turns out I finished packing up early so I had time :O)
EHEHEHE I MEAN I'M PRETTY SURE EVERYONE KNOWS WHO THIS MAN IS AHAHAH (their meeting here will play a role in the future chapters! :3)
Have a lovely weekend everyone!
- Howley.
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PIXELATED | Lee Felix
FanfictionA story of two university students who started off being terrified of each other due to their pixelated faces, but came to develop a bond that could never be replaced. "I think the universe wanted to teach us the true meaning of seeing beyond appea...
