Wrong Impression
The bass from the speakers made the walls tremble. Laughter, chatter, and the smell of alcohol mixed into the night air as Elena Melek stood stiffly by the wall, clutching a half-empty red cup she hadn’t even sipped from.
This wasn’t her scene.
Not the deafening music. Not the sweaty bodies pressing against each other on the dance floor. Not the suffocating heat inside.
But her best friend, Lila, had begged her to come.“Just this once, Lena. It’s senior year—don’t you want to experience at least one wild night before college?”
So she came; And then Lila promptly disappeared with some boy, leaving Elena standing there alone like an abandoned plant pot.
She sighed, feeling the prickle of frustration, and pushed her way through the crowd until the cool night air kissed her face. Outside, the backyard was quieter, darker, the party noise muffled through the walls.
She walked further down the garden path, away from the string lights, until the shadows thickened. That’s when she saw them.
Two figures pressed against the stone steps, kissing
At first, she wanted to turn around, to give them privacy, but something stopped her. Maybe curiosity. Maybe the way the guy’s broad shoulders shifted as he kissed the girl like she was the only thing that mattered.
Elena desparately about to move, steps on a stick , as it made a prickly sound in the slient night, as she seeing them wasn’t enough of a distraction.
And then—his eyes flicked open.
They locked on Elena.
For a moment, her heart stuttered.
He had the kind of eyes that didn’t just look at you, theysawyou—sharp, storm-gray, and unsettling. Heat rushed up her neck, and she stumbled back a step.
But he didn’t stop.
He kept kissing the girl, as if Elena wasn’t there at all, even though his gaze had burned right through her.
Elena rolled her eyes, annoyed at herself for even watching, and spun on her heel. “Figures,” she muttered, brushing her hair from her face.
Back inside, she tried to drown her irritation with alcohol. One drink turned into three, then four. She wasn’t used to drinking—she rarely even touched so but tonight, the burn of liquid courage felt necessary.
The room tilted, voices slurred, and suddenly she was laughing at things that weren’t funny, telling strangers random facts about constellations and chemistry equations like anyone cared.
And then her foot slipped.
She shrieked as her body tumbled backward—straight into the pool.
Water swallowed her in a freezing rush. She strugged to swim, her dress kept dragging her down. Panic clawed at her lungs.
“ELENA!” a voice screamed. It was Lila, rushing toward the pool’s edge.
But before Lila could even jump in, someone else hit the water. Strong arms wrapped around Elena, pulling her up. She gasped for air, coughing violently as she was dragged to the edge.
Manu hoisted her up, pressing her onto the stone pavement. People circled around, their laughter turning into whispers. Elena could barely breathe, water spilling from her lips.
“Move!” he barked, dropping to his knees.
And then he pressed his mouth to hers.
Her eyes widened, as he forced air into her lungs, pressed down on her chest until she coughed, choking out water. Her body jolted as she rolled to the side, vomiting pool water onto the tiles.
The crowd groaned, half-disgusted, half-relieved.
Manu sat back, soaked, his hair dripping over his forehead. “You’re okay,” he said firmly, his deep voice cutting through her haze.
Fuck! I was just revived through a kiss right? she thought,
Lila dropped to her knees beside Elena, frantic. “Oh my god, oh my god, Lena! Are you okay? You scared the life out of me—”
Elena groaned, still coughing, her body trembling. “I... hate... parties.”
People started dispersing once it was clear she wouldn’t die. Manu helped lift her up, but she was still woozy, barely aware as Lila and a couple of others carried her out and shoved her into a waiting car.
The night ended in a blur of shame, chlorine, and the pounding of her own heartbeat.
..........
The next week at school, the whispers hadn’t stopped.
“That’s the girl who almost drowned.”“Manu gave her mouth-to-mouth, right?”“So embarrassing.” “Probably likes attention”
Elena kept her head down, clutching her books tighter than usual as she slipped through the crowded halls. Lila tried to cheer her up, but Elena could feel the stares.
And then, as she turned a corner, she saw him.
Manu Rois.
Leaning against a locker, smoke curling from his lips, a cocky grin plastered on his face as two girls giggled beside him. He wore trouble like a second skin—rings on his fingers, ripped jeans, that dangerous spark in his eyes.
The same eyes that had burned into her that night.
Elena’s stomach twisted; She walked faster, pretending not to notice but she did. She noticed everything, the way he laughed too loudly, the way his arm hung lazily over one of the girls’ shoulders. The way his gaze followed her for a split second before flicking back.
For the rest of the week, it was like that. Him surrounded by people, popular and untouchable. Her, the invisible scholar who sat in the front row and buried herself in books.
Two different worlds that were never meant to cross.
Until they did.
It was Friday evening. The library was nearly empty, quiet except for the hum of the lights. Elena had stayed late, researching for her chemistry project.
She heard footsteps behind her, slow and deliberate.
When she looked up—he was there.
Manu Rois.
Alone.
He leaned on the shelf across from her, watching her like she was a puzzle he hadn’t solved yet.
Her throat went dry.
“You’re Elena, right?” His voice was smooth, low, carrying a kind of lazy amusement.
She froze. No one like him ever bothered to remember her name.
“Yes,” she managed, her fingers tightening on her pen.
He tilted his head, studying her. “Didn’t think I’d see you here.”
Her pulse quickened. “Why? Because I’m not your type of... crowd?”
His lips curved into the faintest smirk. “Something like that.”
Silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken tension.
And then—he stepped closer. Too close.
She could smell the faint smoke on him, the sharp edge of his cologne.
“Elena Melek,” he murmured, his gray eyes glinting under the dim light. “I think you and I are going to have a lot more to do with each other than you realize.”
Her heart skipped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
But Manu only smirked, as he touched her soft rosy lips with his finger, he looks down at her lips and leans even closer
” This always calls me every time I see you Elle ”
“Let’s make a deal shall we?”
