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Hunter

It had been two hours, and I was finally finishing up my history paper. I found myself repeatedly looking up at Mel, getting captivated by her soft features focused so hard on the story in front of her.

I submitted my paper online, excited to be done with it, but found myself not wanting to disturb her. Instead a watched her for a little while longer. Though we had hardly spoken in the past few hours, just sitting next to her gave me a feeling I had never had before, almost like a sense of calmness or something. She didn't work hard to get my attention like I was used to; in fact I kind of felt like I had to work to get her attention. Her beauty was effortless and genuine, and it was alluring.

She eventually looked up, "Are you okay?" she asked me. I probably looked like a freak staring at her like I was. I tried to laugh it off as to not seem suspicious, "Of course, just finished my paper so actually I'm pretty great."

My response earned me a smile, "I knew you could do it!" I looked down at my clock and saw that it was almost eleven which meant she would probably want to head back soon. "It's getting late, can I walk you back to your dorm?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to make you go out of your way or anything," She questioned. I wanted to tell her that I would walk pretty much anywhere if it meant I could spend some more time with her, but I decided that sounded kind of strong and honestly scared me just as much as it would probably scare her. I stuck with something a little simpler, "Don't worry about it, it's really no big deal."

She just smiled and nodded and then proceeded to follow me down the stairs and out the library. "So where are you from?" I asked trying to make conversation and get to know a little bit more about her. "I'm from Los Angeles," She responded.

"Oh wow, you are pretty far from home. How did you get all the way to Syracuse University?" I questioned.

She looked down as she answered the question, almost as if she was trying to hide something, "I guess I just wanted to get as far from home as possible." She didn't elaborate and I got the feeling that she didn't want me to ask further, but I was dying to know what secrets she was hiding.

"Oh well in that case, you couldn't really find a place more different than LA, just wait until the winter comes." I tried to joke to make her feel more comfortable. It seemed to work, as she lifted her head again with a small smile on her face. "Yeah, I have never seen snow so it should be interested."

"I am from New York City so I am pretty used to the weather here." I said as we walked across the quad. I noticed a group of guys walking toward us, seemingly drunk. As they approached I could hear them talking loudly and saw a bottle of vodka in one of the boy's hands.

I felt a sudden urge to protect the small fragile girl next to me, so I pulled her close and out my arm around her as we passed the group of rowdy guys. She nestled into my side where she seemed to fit perfectly.

We were once again alone in the quad, and I knew that I should let her go, but as soon as I did I felt cold as if I was missing something. I decided that holding her hand was the next best thing so I reached down and intertwined her fingers with mine. She looked up and smiled at the gesture I had just made, and we continued walking in a comfortable silence.

All too quickly we arrived outside her building and my time with her was coming to an end. "So I am assuming that you won't be spending time in the library now that your paper is done," She stated, trying and failing to hide the disappointment in her voice.

She was right, I wasn't the guy the type of guy to go into the library unless it was absolutely necessary. I hardly had anytime anyway between football and the frat, but she didn't actually know about either of those parts of my life. "No not typically, but maybe I will be able to make some exceptions," I said with a smirk.

As I thought about football and the frat I began to remember why I didn't get involved with girls like her in the first place; I was never the good guy and I didn't want the commitment. And what would the guys say if they saw me with her? They wouldn't understand, the would just see a nerdy and socially awkward girl who is nothing like the girls I surround myself with.

I was quickly coming to the conclusion that despite how drawn I felt to this girl, it was never going to work out. I wasn't good enough for her. With that in mind I decided not to ask for her number, I think because I knew that if I had any way to contact her I wouldn't be able to stay away.

I looked down at her to find her big hazel eyes looking up at me, urging me to make a move. I put my hand on her cheek and tried to memorize all of her features, knowing that I would probably never be this close to them again. I slowly leaned down and place a long slow kiss on her lips. This one was even better than the first and it took all my will power to pull away, knowing that I would never have that feeling again.

"Goodnight Mel." I whispered into her ear and then turned around and walking away, leaving her standing in the same spot.

I know that not getting involved with her was for the best, I would only end up hurting her otherwise, but walking away was one of the hardest things I have ever done.