Chapter One: Ordinary Magic
I spotted Mara before I even reached the library quad. She was sprawled on the grass, sketchbook on her knees, pencil flying across the page like she owned the world. The sunlight caught strands of her chestnut hair, turning them to gold, and for a second, I forgot to breathe. Not that I ever really did around her.
"You're early," she said without looking up when I flopped down beside her. Her pencil paused mid-stroke.
"No, you're late," I teased, nudging her shoulder. "Or maybe we're just on different schedules. Yours: calm, ethereal. Mine: perfect punctuality."
Mara laughed, that soft, melodic sound that makes my chest ache in the best way possible. "You're ridiculous," she said.
"And yet you love me," I said, leaning back on my hands, eyes scanning the clouds drifting across the pale blue sky.
She finally looked up, a small, knowing smile on her lips. "Maybe." And in that smile, that tiny tilt of her mouth, I saw the whole universe.
I could get lost in Mara Leigh and honestly, I often did. There was a calmness about her, a kind of light I didn't deserve. I'm restless, always moving, thinking, analyzing. Mara? She just existed in a way that made me feel like maybe I could exist too. Like maybe I wasn't all jagged edges and shadows.
"What are you drawing?" I asked, nodding toward her sketchbook.
"Doodles," she shrugged. "Nothing serious."
I shook my head. "Nothing serious, huh? Your doodles make me jealous and proud at the same time."
Her cheeks flushed, and she swatted my arm. "Stop. You're going to ruin my artistic reputation."
"It's already ruined," I said with a grin. "By me. Permanently."
She laughed again, and I caught her hand, squeezing it gently. I could feel her warmth through the thin fabric of her hoodie. "I'm… really lucky, you know," I admitted.
"You're lucky," she said, her thumb tracing little circles over the back of my hand. "But we're lucky together. That's better, don't you think?"
Lucky together. I let that sink in. My heart beat faster than it had any right to on a Thursday morning. I loved her with a certainty I'd never known before, and it was terrifying. Loving her this fully, this completely, meant I'd never be the same again.
"Race you to the quad?" she suddenly challenged, springing to her feet.
"No way," I groaned dramatically. "You know I always lose."
"Not today," she said, grinning that mischievous grin I could never resist. And she sprinted away.
I chased her anyway. Adrenaline mixed with laughter as I ran, wind ripping past my ears. For a few perfect minutes, I wasn't thinking about anything else — not classes, not responsibilities, not the way my life could fall apart in a second. I was just Noah, and she was just Mara, and the world shrunk to the space we filled.
We collapsed on the grass, breathless, tangled, laughing until our stomachs hurt. "You cheat," I said, pointing at her, though my grin made it clear I wasn't serious.
"I did not!" she said, mock-indignant, though her eyes sparkled with amusement.
I shook my head, tugging her closer. "This is perfect," I murmured. "No pressures, no expectations. Just… this."
"Just us," she said, leaning her head against my shoulder. "I could stay like this forever."
"Forever's a long time," I said softly. "But I'd like to try it, starting now."
We stayed like that a while, tangled together in the grass. Around us, the campus moved — students passing, birds calling, the occasional bicycle whirring by. But it didn't matter. Right then, the only thing that existed was Mara, the sunlight on her face, and the steady rhythm of her heartbeat against mine.
When she finally sat up, brushing stray bits of grass off, she looked at me with that sly grin I was already tired of losing to. "Race to the café? Winner buys coffee?"
I smirked. "You're on. But don't cry when I win."
"Dream on," she said, grabbing my hand. And together, we ran — laughing, stumbling, stealing glances at each other, chasing a morning that I already knew I'd never forget.