༊*·˚ once is chance  .͙*୭⁺

a new semester meant new seating arrangements, which is something zachary found himself being concerned about. not that he particularly liked where he sat, it’s a matter of being used to it. for a pretty outgoing fellow, he enjoys getting to know his classmates beyond hallway greetings and ‘see you later’s. this specific class was not a large one by any stretch of the imagination, but being a shared class with those above and below his grade level, there are quite a number of people he has yet to interact with. with what luck he has, he ended up being assigned to a seat by the window, an ideal spot for not paying attention in class (zach:1 academics:0). if not socializing, zachary tends to find himself dozing off in the middle of most lessons, specially when idle chatter isn’t an option. 

as everyone wandered around to find their seat, the young male caught glimpse of the school gates, where he spots a figure running to the general direction of the building. it’s safe to assume the student was in a hurry after witnessing her almost trip and catch herself, causing the spectator to chuckle from where he’s sitting. it was a few minutes into the lesson did the door to the class slide open, revealing the same girl, panting and sweating. she offered an apology to the professor, who in exchange gave her a stern look and firm nod, telling her to find her seat.

zachary watched as she made her way to the empty desk next to him, wearing an amused look to compliment his shit-eating grin, eyes landing on the girl’s head and down to her eyes. “had a little tussle in the woods?” he asked, chin resting on his palm. when the only response he got was a confused quirk of an eyebrow, he reaches over to pluck two leaves sticking in her hair, making the other gasp and touch her head. cute. 

“honestly, could have been a fashion statement with how you managed to pull it off.”

”w-well.. aren’t you funny.” “no, i’m zach.”

(she turns her head the other side with a scoff, refusing to let him see her chuckle at his dumb joke.)

            ༊*·˚ twice is coincidence  .͙*୭⁺

”-what more, the guy who sits next to me first period is so obnoxious!” joyce huffed, blowing the bangs out of her eyes. classes has ended for the day and the princess was spending her afternoon with her friend on their usual spot by the field. on top of being late, joyce found out later on half of her schedule got mixed up, so she had to consult a counselor, which took longer than she wanted. the obnoxious guy didn’t really bother her, but she needed a third point for dramatics. “could this day get any worse?”

as if on cue, a blur of black and white hurled in their direction, followed by a useless warning of ‘look out!’. had it not been for joyce’s reflex, ducking and pushing skylar down just in time, the ball wouldn’t be the only thing rolling on the ground. just as she was about to start a fight with whoever kicked that ball —something uncharacteristic of her, but with the foul mood she’s already in, it’s not really surprising— she hears a deep, yet familiar voice apologize, presence nearing until his tall stature blocks the sun.

“oh, hey ms. tardy” it’s as obvious as daylight that the male is trying to suppress anything that could come out as laughter, knowing the serious situation he’s in. he turned to skylar “are you alright? i’m sorry about that” he picks up the ball, kicks it back to the field and turns to face the pair. “soccer tryouts today” he explains. “that was the first stray ball today, but probably won’t be the last.”

hearing that it wasn’t his fault, joyce slowly descends to her usual calmness—she doesn’t know why, but a small part of her felt relieved. if not clouded by annoyance, this zach fellow isn’t that bad-looking. is he always that bright, or is it because he’s standing directly under the sun? whatever it is, joyce decided to blame the sun. it’s more convenient that way. 

when joyce lifts her head to look at him, she was taken aback at the fact he’s smiling at her, too. “you guys should move; wouldn’t want anything to happen to such a pretty face.”

           ༊*·˚ thrice is...?  .͙*୭⁺

“ms. tardy?” why he started calling her that, zachary doesn’t know. which brings up another thing that he doesn’t know: her name. luckily, she responded to his weird nickname, turning at the sound of his voice. “we keep meeting each other— are you stalking me?” he gave her an accusatory squint albeit joking, oblivious to the faint blush on the princess’ cheeks.

”when are going to stop calling me that? i have a name, you know..” she only wanted to pick up the book she left in one of the classrooms. the walk from the dormitory and back should have been a peaceful one, and yet here she is. what were the chances she;d run into the guy with a terrible sense of humor? apparently it’s higher than she thought.  

”and would you be so kind as to humble me with that information?” he muses.

she almost didn’t want to tell him, but despite her best effort, she’s been won over by the first genuine smile she’s seen from him. “it’s joyce.”

“joyce.” he repeats quietly to himself, smile still present. with how huge the academy is, seeing her for the third time in a single day is no coincidence. fate? no, it couldn't be, for fate isn’t real. if there were such a thing, then everything he’s worked hard on and struggled with would have been for naught. but maybe, just this once, he’d like to believe it was that. a fateful encounter. 

“are you heading back to the dormitories? i’ll walk you, since it’s getting pretty late.” it was zachary’s turn to be dazed by her smile. and when he’s like this, the little brain-to-mouth filter he has collapses completely. “didn’t think you could get prettier, and here you are proving me wrong.” it was through her flushed cheeks and dumbfounded expression that zachary realized he said those incredibly embarrassing words out loud. as countermeasure, he pretends to be nonchalant about it, laughs it off, and began his paced strides.

the sky was a kaleidoscope, burnt orange and lilac bleeding into the resting blue. beneath the dark of his eyelids, zachary could still see the sunlight, basking for as long as he could stand before the hum of silence became overwhelming. he hasn’t been able to get some rest recently. he blames the stress of upcoming exams, but he knows better than to lie to himself. he’s fully aware of the root of his pondering. he made the mistake of telling one person his secret, and the next thing he knows, the entire soccer team was relentlessly teasing him about his ‘crush’, as they would call it. 

(but that’s not really it)

it was out of curiosity when he asked their team captain about the signs that leads to realizing romantic feelings towards a specific person. it was simple, really, until he was put on the spot and was asked if anyone popped in his head during their talk. zachary would be lying if he said no. how could he not think of her? only a fool would deny such an attraction, and what is zachary sinclair but a fool.

he thinks back to the many times he allowed an opportunity to pass him by because of his tendency to overthink. like when he was asked to be the soccer team’s captain before the seniors stepped down at the end of last year’s term, something zachary has set as a goal from the moment he joined the sport, but he turned away from it out of fear of letting his teammates down. incompetent is the last word he’d use to describe himself, but rather indecisive. this time, however, is different. 

”a crush, huh.” he says to himself, letting out a soft chuckle. god knows that’s not it. whatever he’s feeling is way past the quick glances and shy smiles. what he wants is to hold her hand every second possible, to feel her nimble fingers intertwine with his so he could give them a reaffirming squeeze. he wants to be the shoulder she leans on, the ears she whispers her secrets to, the arms that help carry the burden on her back. he wants to kiss her square on the lips with as much passion as his emotions could convey, letting her know right there and then that he’s madly in love with joyce. 

love.

of course it was love. he’s always known it, but refused to acknowledge. what for? for the fear of being rejected? no, he isn’t that much of a coward. but rather, it was the fear of losing her, losing what they have. he likes their unplanned meet-ups by the field after practice, and how she would already have a drink in hand for him. he likes the way she laughs at his jokes, despite half of them being as lame as he is. he likes a lot of things regarding joyce, but they don’t compare to how much he likes her. 

joyce x zach ☆ moodboard (1/?)