I briefly noted that unbeknownst to me, the class had filled up, but the majority of my attention was focused on the person who had just entered in.

She had honey brown hair that reached a little over her shoulders, a slender build and eyes a deep shade of hazel. Paired with her formal suit and her black-rimmed glasses, she painted the perfect picture, of an intellectual beauty.

"My name is Sandra Keen" she gave us a sunny smile, "I will be your homeroom teacher for the next three years..." And she went on to give a short explanation on the school curriculum thereafter, most of which I chose to ignore.

'It'll be in another two months that she...' I began searching through my memories, trying to recall all I could, about the particular incident.

Sandra Keen had been a favorite, which wasn't surprising given her personality and demeanor, and the entire school had taken the news quite hard.

Though personally, I never had any interactions with her outside of class but from what I'd heard, she'd been a truly kind and generous person 'Not to mention Ms. Keen is also the...'

"The Student by the window near the back..." A soft voice echoed, "Could you introduce yourself to the class??" and she gave me a smile, attributing my absent-minded state to one of nervousness.

'Okay… was she always this beautiful?!' I sent her a tentative smile in turn, as I rose to my feet, ending my introduction with just my name and where I was from.

Unlike last time, I refrained from revealing anything else about me or my family, I didn't care about what my fellow classmates thought of me, so why waste the effort??

I easily read the surprise in her eyes though she tried to cover it up with another smile 'I may look fifteen on the outside, but I'm a thirty-year-old man at heart'

Ms. Keen was barely in her early twenties so, in terms of seniority, I was way ahead of her 'Don't worry... I'll help change your fate' I quickly formulated a more specific course of action, factoring in the additional information.

'And I'll also have to orchestrate an earlier meeting with...' I rapidly went over the scenarios in my head, deciding on going for the one that would pose the least amount of suspicion, though it gave me barely any time to prepare myself.

I watched as Ms. Keen went over our lesson plan, 'Saving her is just the first step' I reminded myself as I drafted out a particularly demanding, borderline crazy, schedule which I was determined to follow through.

Changing fate was no trivial matter and there was no greater tribute to a cause than one's blood, sweat, and tears.

I wouldn't be paying the last one though, I'd shed enough tears in my last lifetime and didn't plan on shedding anymore for at least a good while.

The rest of my day passed by uneventfully and I was soon exiting the school gates...

The scream was all the confirmation I needed 'Never again...' I dashed up the flight of stairs, my arms open wide upon reaching the landing. I had just enough time to register the panic in her eyes before the force of her fall sent me stumbling.

I managed to keep my footing and, after stabilizing myself, immediately glanced towards the corridor above us 'Well that figures…' I smiled bitterly for, aside from a few scattered books and a bunch of papers, the place was completely deserted.

'I timed it right...' letting out a relieved sigh, I turned towards the beauty in my arms and abruptly froze. I'd gazed into those very eyes countless times, and despite being prepared for it, I was still left entranced.

'Alisha..' my arms involuntarily tightened around her narrow waist, as a flood of memories, overwhelmed my mind.

Her head leaned against one of my shoulders, and given that I wasn't as tall as I used to be, we'd ended up in a state where our lips were mere inches from one another.

I could feel her every breath and the fact that she was hyperventilating, well... To put in simply, I was stuck somewhere between seventh heaven and hell's fiery pit.

'Sweet mother of...' My blood raced in frenzy, the hazy gleam to her eyes, the heaving of her well-endowed chest 'Keep it together, keep it together!! You can't give in!!'

My reason wavered with each passing moment, but I held it all back, 'She might be the same person but this wasn't my Alisha...' I firmly reminded myself 'I've come this far, I'll have to wait just a little bit more!!' and I tore my gaze away from her utterly tantalizing form.

I took in a few deep breaths, to calm myself "Are you... Okay??" I asked after a few minutes, though my voice was a little too hoarse for my liking.

"Um... Ye... Yes" Came her soft voice, she'd also calmed herself to the point that she wasn't hyperventilating, which made it a little easier for me at least.

"Thank you for... Saving me" She started again, her palm landing on my arms, which were still wrapped securely around her "Could you...??" her voice at this point, aside from the obvious embarrassment, also held traces of wariness.

'She'll probably go into full-on battle mode in a few minutes...' I noted, for I could feel her body tensing "Ahh... Yeah" I immediately loosened my hold.

"Aak!!" But hardly had she straightened up, that she stumbled, letting out a yelp of pain as she did so.

I reached out to grab her again, but in my haste, one of my palms ended up landing on something soft and pert, I instinctively squeezed.

"Eep!!"

'Uh oh...' My eyes widened, and I immediately readjusted my grip, "I can..."

*Slap*

---

Alisha Barnes, the only daughter of Multi-millionaire Henry Barnes and his artist wife, Susan.

She was easily one amongst the most popular girls in school, a Senior who neither had the ego nor the air of superiority that one would come to expect, from someone of her status and upbringing.

She treated everyone equally, irrespective of their status or backgrounds, a factor that eventually paved way for her getting accepted into the Student Council.

Appearance wise she had long, reddish-brown hair that reached up to her waist, a petite frame that was in no way short and light green eyes, that could easily bend one's will to her own.

Naturally, the number of admirers she had weren't small, unfortunately for them, Alisha could be quite the 'Ice Queen' when she wanted to be.

I'd accidentally met her during the latter half of my freshman year, and we'd hit upon quite the unlikely friendship. But it wasn't till much later, during the time of my first tour when we had a chance meeting, that ultimately resulted in us becoming a couple.

---

But this time around, I couldn't wait that long, or maybe the correct statement would be that I didn't want to wait that long as:-

One: It would be a huge waste of time, that we could have otherwise spent together.

Two: I didn't plan on following the same path, so the said encounter might never occur in the first place!!

And that my friends, is what leads us to the point where I get the living daylights knocked out of me... Way to make a first impression, huh??