The autumn air smelled like pencil shavings and impending rain.
Noah Carter was late. Again.
His sneakers slapped against the library steps as he took them two at a time, his backpack bouncing awkwardly against his shoulder. He'd stayed up too late last night—again—poring over a philosophy paper he wasn't even sure his professor would read. That was the problem with being an overthinker; he cared too much about things that probably didn't matter.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't see her until it was too late.
A girl. A stack of books. A to-go cup of coffee balanced precariously on top.
Noah tried to stop—really, he did—but momentum carried him forward, and—
_Crash._
The coffee hit the concrete first, exploding in a dark, caffeinated puddle. The books followed—heavy, hardcover volumes splaying open like wounded birds. A copy of _The Bell Jar_ landed spine-up, pages crumpling.
"Oh my God—" Noah dropped to his knees, already scrambling to gather the mess. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking—"
And then he heard it.
Laughter.
Not a polite chuckle. Not an annoyed huff. Real, unfiltered laughter—the kind that came from the stomach, the kind that made the corners of your eyes crinkle.
Noah looked up.
The girl—Lena, he'd learn her name was Lena—was crouched in the middle of the chaos, her dark hair falling over her shoulders as she shook with laughter. She wasn't even trying to pick up the books. She was just… laughing.
"You," she said, wiping at her eyes, "are a human tornado."
Noah blinked. He'd been prepared for anger, for irritation, for a sigh and a dismissive _it's fine_. But this? This threw him.
"I—" He floundered. "I can pay for the coffee. Or—or the books, if they're damaged—"
Lena waved a hand, still grinning. "It's just stuff." She reached out, plucking a battered copy of _The Odyssey_ from the ground and brushing it off. "See? Totally fine."
Noah stared at her.
She was beautiful, but not in the obvious way. Not in the way of girls in magazines or Instagram models. Her beauty was in the way she moved—like she wasn't in a hurry, like she noticed things. Her eyes were dark and too knowing, her mouth quirked in a smile that suggested she'd already figured him out.
"I'm Lena," she said, extending a hand.
Noah took it. Her fingers were warm.
"Noah."
She tilted her head. "Do you always destroy personal property when introducing yourself, Noah?"
He felt his face heat. "Only on special occasions."
Lena laughed again, and something in Noah's chest tightened.
He didn't know it yet, but this was the moment everything would change.
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