Chapter 2

　　That night, as I lay staring at the ceiling of my new dorm room, I couldn't stop my mind from drifting back to him. Was it just because he was insanely good-looking? No, it wasn't just that. There was something about his presence that genuinely intrigued me.

　　Worse, I had this bizarre, unexplainable feeling that I had seen him somewhere before, even though I knew it was impossible.

　　I groaned, burying my face deep into my pillow. Tomorrow was my official first day of college. I was supposed to be stressing over my classes, not losing sleep over some mysterious guy who probably thought I was desperately hitting on him. But the harder I tried to force him out of my head, the clearer I could picture his face.

　　Thump.

　　A heavy book hit the floor on the other side of the room, followed by a frustrated sigh.

　　"Seriously, Hailey, if you keep groaning into your pillow, you're going to suffocate before we even get to orientation."

　　I rolled over, lifting my head from the pillow. Lily, my new roommate, was kneeling on the floor, surrounded by a chaotic explosion of clothes and textbook boxes. She had short, curly brown hair and was currently glaring at a tangled mess of hangers.

　　"Sorry," I managed, propping myself up on my elbows. "Just a lot on my mind."

　　Lily put the hangers to the side and plopped down on a bunch of blankets, giving me a curious look. "A lot, or someone?"

　　I felt my cheeks flush, which is pretty obvious under the dim dorm lights. Damn, she's quick.

　　"I was planning on waiting until morning to grill you, but you look pitiful," Lily said, grinning and crossing her arms. "Spill it. Who is he? Did you make a connection on the bus, or are you already missing someone from Vancouver?"

　　I gave her a bit of a smile, trying not to make it too obvious. "Unfortunately, the answer is no to both. But I did run into a guy right after I got there."

　　Lily's eyes got big, and she practically shimmied over the pile of clothes to get closer to my bed. "Tell. Me. Everything."

　　I took a breath and confessed. "He rescued my bag from a thief. And he's... well, he's incredibly hot."

　　Lily laughed, leaning back against the headboard of her bed. "Look at you. It's your first day in Toronto, and you're already having a moment like the main character in a romance novel. You met your knight in shining armor."

　　"Yeah, well, he looked less like a knight and more like a rugged athlete," I added, picturing his broad shoulders. "He was in great shape."

　　"Did you get his name? His number? A social media handle?"

　　"That's the problem," I groaned, slumping back onto the mattress. "He wouldn't tell me."

　　Lily looked like she was trying to figure something out. "Wait, what? A guy that hot, in this town, doesn't want to leave a trace? That's fishy. Or... very, very intriguing." She hummed, already taking in the info.

　　"The worst part is, I felt like I should know him," I whispered, staring back up at the ceiling. "Like his face was familiar, but I know it's impossible."

　　"Well," Lily sighed, crawling back to her disorganized pile. "I hope you run into him again. This city might be big, but the campus is where everyone ends up."

　　"Maybe," I murmured, unsure if I wanted that.

　　"But speaking of hot athletes," Lily continued, her voice gaining momentum again as she started folding a shirt, "I looked up the uni forums before we got here. Apparently, there's a sports captain on campus that literally every single girl is losing their minds over. They call him the 'Ice King' or something just as dramatic."

　　I cut her off with a loud yawn, rolling onto my side away from her. "I don't think I'm interested, Lily."

　　"Hey, you haven't even seen him yet! Just give it a shot tomorrow," Lily whined, throwing a stray sock near my feet. "I bet you he's way more handsome than your mystery savior. Come on, we are exploring the entire campus tomorrow, starting with the coffee stand, and I plan on finding this captain."

　　I gave a careless shrug, closing my eyes. The image of the man in the black hat, his warm hand, his half-smil, flashed behind my eyelids one last time. "Well, we'll see."

　　"Why am I nervous?"

　　I stared at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, and my favorite sneakers, so everything looked normal.

　　I let my long brown hair hang loose, trying to look put-together without drawing attention to myself, because I hate that. If you're always drawing attention to yourself, it's not going to end well.

　　But my heart was beating faster than usual. It was my first day of classes at the University of Toronto, a new city that had welcomed me with yesterday's incident.

　　"Since it's your first day of classes," Lily replied as she put on her lip gloss. She looked like a bookworm, but she was stylish and charming.

　　"That's why everyone's nervous," she said, patting my shoulder.

　　"I'm not a fan of being the new kid," I said.

　　"You'll be fine," Lily said, her eyes widening. "Wow. Holy crazy, Hailey."

　　I looked a bit annoyed. "What? My outfit's pretty simple, right?"

　　"Simple? No matter what you wear, you're still going to turn heads."

　　"You're gorgeous! No surprise a hunk like you had your back again." Lily seemed happy with the compliment.

　　I let out a sigh. "Stop it. You've been saying that over and over since this morning."

　　"Because it's a fact, Hailey. If I were a guy, I'd totally fall in love with you too, you were born beautiful!"

　　"Lily, please."

　　"Okay, okay." She raised both hands. "But don't come crying to me if everyone starts staring at you later."

　　I rolled my eyes, as if that would actually happen. I wore simple clothes and minimal makeup so as not to stand out.

　　I was looking to live a quiet, peaceful life in a new city where not many people knew me.

　　As it turned out, Lily was right. Everyone was staring at me. I just looked down as I walked down the hallway of the main building.

　　Damn, I didn't bring my baseball cap. If I had known it would be like this, I should've worn a hoodie.

　　A few people stared and whispered as I passed them.

　　"Is she a freshman?"

　　"She's so pretty."

　　"I've never seen her before."

　　"What's her major?"

　　I sped up a bit. My face was starting to get red. I'm not a fan of being the center of attention. I don't want my past to repeat itself here, I hate that.

　　"Hailey!" Lily jogged to catch up with me. "You're moving a bit too quickly."

　　"Everyone's staring at me, Lily. I tried not to draw attention, but I guess I was wrong." I sped up my pace, and Lily did her best to match my speed.

　　"So what's the big deal?"

　　"I'm uncomfortable," I said, looking down as much as possible.

　　"Get used to it."

　　"Lily," I sighed. This wasn't what I wanted.

　　My whole life, I've always been the center of attention, and it's kept me from moving freely and doing whatever I want. That's why I moved away from Vancouver.

　　My long, naturally wavy brown hair, hazel eyes, and facial features, which people often say are too symmetrical to be real, are all a curse that has prevented me from ever having a peaceful life. I'm tired of being the center of attention. I just want to be an average college student who no one in Toronto knows.

　　"What?"

　　"You're not helping at all."

　　Lily just laughed. She seemed proud to be walking with me through campus. She showed me around the campus and introduced me to everything, except for one important thing that I might realize too late.

　　But then, when it was time for lunch, things got even worse. The campus cafeteria was packed, and Lily wasn't there. She was busy at the library.

　　I finally found an empty table. It was tucked away in a corner, a great spot for someone who prefers to be alone and doesn't want to draw attention.

　　But just as I sat down with my food, a guy suddenly sat across from me.

　　"Hey."I looked up. He was a good-looking guy with blond hair, beautiful blue eyes, and a confident smile.