Why so clueless?

“I want to be

In love with you

The same way

I am in

Love with the moon

With the light

Shining

Out of its soul.”

―Sanober Khan

…

Hiro had walked out of Selena’s in an almost daily basis during the mornings, usually with a steaming to-go coffee in hand as he walked towards the campus building since it was just literally a walking distance away from the café.

He would often see some of his fellow professors or his students (former or not) mingling about with their friends or significant others while on the way to his office. Sometimes, he stopped by to chat with some of them–usually students who needed to ask him something or his workmates just making small talk.

Most of the time, they flashed him a cheerful smile or a nod in greeting and Hiro would go on his merry way in peace… but today…

Today was definitely not one of those days.

No, not when he had one Cassandra Lunamor standing right beside him, glaring at anyone (though a resting bitch face is beginning to look like her default expression) who happened to be standing near them.

Her fair hair was long and loose, the sunlight overhead catching the light strands and casting a faint glow, almost a spotlight, amplifying the albino-like complexion and making the faint circles underneath her eyes appear all the more darker, the piercing silver-gray color in her eyes even more so.

Normally, Hiro can fade into the background pretty well if he wants to despite being a familiar face in the campus crowd but having someone so eye-catching beside him… that was difficult.

Of course, Hiro had heard of Lunamor being famous–towards students and teachers alike (though for very different reasons) and seriously, why wouldn’t she be? Lunamor’s literally rich, beauty and brains personified, after all. Not to mention, she’s literally an iconic face in the world of business and came from a world-renowned family. But if he was being honest, Hiro hadn’t really considered what kind of impact his student makes to people… until now.

From the corner of his eyes, Hiro could have sworn he can see some of the students whispering to each other while subtly gesturing to them, their expressions shocked and most certainly disapproving–and he resisted the tempting urge to turn tail and run. But at seeing the blasé look on Lunamor’s pale face, Hiro forcefully ignored the sudden bout of anxiety.

She glanced at him.

No doubt noticing that he hadn't stopped wiping at his glasses.

“...is there something wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing, it’s just–”

Hiro’s eyes darted nervously to the sea of people around them who were all watching with eager eyes and reminding him so suddenly of a hungry pack of wolves, though these ones were salivating over the faintest idea of gossip, he still felt like a fresh piece of meat.

“…people are watching,” he muttered.

Lunamor pushed her hair off of her shoulder and Hiro seemed to just… he can’t take his eyes off from the way those gloved fingers combed slightly from the silky fair-gold strands.

It looked like tendrils of moonlight.

“Let them,” she told him.

Hiro felt his lips tugging into an amused smile at her cool as cucumber tone as they both went inside the building. He teased, “Well, aren’t you such a celebrity, Ms. Lunamor? How on earth do you even deal with this kind of attention?”

“Easy… I don’t.”

“You’re used to it, then?”

“As long they keep their distance, I could have cared less. I never bothered with other people’s opinion,” she muttered, adjusting her hold on her laptop, “but if they started following me or Cyan around again... well, we might have to… take some precautionary actions, just to be safe.”

Hiro pursed his lips distractedly, glancing at her then at her laptop, hesitating for a moment, suddenly feeling a bit shy that he hadn't even asked earlier.

That looks heavy.

“Do you uh… do you need some help with that, Lunamor? I can carry it if you want” he offered, holding out a hand to her bag.

She blinked, almost taken aback for a moment.

“…It’s fine.”

He nodded, relenting… then her earlier words suddenly clicked, causing his eyes to widen–. “Wait… Lunamor, you’ve been kidnapped?!”

Some of the students who were within earshot, suddenly turned their heads to gape at them, mostly at their fellow student, looking intrigue at this information–but Lunamor didn’t seemed to notice. Or if she did, she most likely chose not to care.

“You watch too many movies.” she remarked, lightly.

Hiro blinked, “So you’re not–?”

“No. I have never been kidnapped.”

“But you said…”

Lunamor looked kind of irritated, almost like she wanted to smack him on the back of the head– but somehow, she still managed to look kind of amused. The kind of expression a parent would wear around a child asking too many questions... which was weird enough on it's own because Lunamor is nearly a decade younger than Hiro.

“Because members of my family are usually stalked and hounded by curious people at any given chance, which is why I chose to study here, far away from my ho… country.”

Hiro pointedly ignored the slip of the tongue.

“Wasn’t that dangerous?”

“Why?”

“You’re away from your family.”

Her brows furrowed, “My brother’s the only one who is away.”

His eyes widened, “Wait. You mean–”

Abruptly, she looked away.

Her sudden silence was too telling.

And Hiro considered that piece of information for a moment, studying and tucking it somewhere for later, before he chuckled when another thought suddenly crossed his mind, “You know, at first I thought you’re only here because you were forced or something…”

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

He blinked.

“You’re…forced to come here?”

“In a nutshell: my brother basically blackmailed me to get out of the European continent,” Lunamor admitted, not seemingly bothered by that fact.

And Hiro began to seriously wonder what exactly her older brother was even blackmailing her with, maybe something cringe-worthy material? Or a trouble Lunamor found herself mixed up in? Funny enough, Lunamor didn't really strike him as the delinquent type...

Lunamor continued, “…though being forced to actually go to college is something that we weren’t able to foresee since we just both assumed I’m going to be given an honorary diploma. Getting in college wasn’t part of the plan, after all...”

“Yes, I heard of that,” Hiro winced at that particular memory, “A lot of the higher members of AST academy had argued and debated about it for a while but the Dean and Chairman were very adamant that you receive your honorary diploma…. now that I thought about it, does your family know them personally?”

She nodded, “They are sycophants.”

His lips twitched, “That… wasn’t really an answer”

“Well, they are sycophants,” she insisted.

Hiro forced himself not to laugh at that.

Lunamor shouldn’t be really going around, calling the Dean and the Chairman names even though there was probably some sort of truth in it–he was still a professor of this academy after all, but he said nothing to affirm or deny that one. He literally lost respect to the both of them the minute he realizes just how money-grubbing those two are.

“But… quick question though.”

“What?”

“How do you like college so far? Do you like it here?”

She suddenly stopped walking.

And a bit surprised, Hiro did the same.

Curiously, he turned to look at her, about to open his mouth to ask why she suddenly stopped walking when he saw the ghost of a smile curling at the corners of her lips.

Lunamor is smiling and he couldn't look away.

And Hiro almost did not hear her softly spoken answer over the sound of his loudly beating heart pounding over his ears, “…I think I do.”