Innocence × Naïveté

 Standing on the soccer field was a total of four guys.

 As they approached, one in particular stood out.

 He was a bit shorter than the others, but his silverly blonde hair seemed to shimmer in the light of the setting sun.

 'Wow. This feels like one of those romance anime, where the love interest has sparkles and roses all around them.' She thought as she took a sip of her coffee to try and calm herself down.

 All it did was make her feel more jittery.

 "Kai! Kai!" Ellie shouted as they approached the soccer field, her arm high in the air as she waved.

 The blonde looked up and smiled, waving his arm in a return greeting.

 Tara felt her face grow hot.

 That was Kai? The cutest one there?

 Ellie ran up to him and hugged him with ease and Tara couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

 "Kai, this is my roommate, Tara!" Ellie said excitedly.

 Just like she had before, when talking about her passions for true crime, Ellie seemed to come alive and truly shine.

 'Hmph. He must be her boyfriend. No wonder she got so excited on the phone when he called.'

 Kai flashed her an award winning smile and held his hand out, waiting for her to shake it.

 "Tara. Cool to meet you. You're gonna look out for little Ellie here, right?"

 She took his hand in hers and shook it. His grip was firm and welcoming and while his tone wasn't aggressive in any way, it almost felt like he was threatening her.

 'I bet he's the possessive type, worrying about his shy girlfriend.'

 "I think Ellie will have to look out for me. I'm new here so I don't know anyone but her."

 Her voice sounded a little pointed.

 Kai's eyebrow raised ever so slightly as he hugged Ellie tighter with one arm.

 "I guess you guys will just have to look out for each other then, huh?"

 Tara nodded, trying to diffuse the awkward tension in the air. Kai was a master at leading the 'vibe'.

 "So how long have you two been dating?" Tara asked, sipping her coffee.

 Ellie nearly spit out hers, her hand flying up to her mouth as she tried to catch the liquid that was about to spew from her lips.

 Kai only let out a soft chuckle.

 "We're not dating. She's like my kid sister," he placed his large hand on her head and ruffled her hair, "Our moms were best friends. We grew up together."

 Ellie wiped her lips with her sleeve before fixing her hair.

 "Y-yeah! As if I'd ever date this guy! He smells like sweat all the time!" She nodded her thumb towards him a few times and shook her head with an awkward laugh.

 "How does your girlfriend feel about that, Kai?" Tara questioned, maintaining eye contact with him as she took another sip of her drink.

 Ellie tilted her head ever-so-slightly, the corner of her nose twitching up for a split second as she stared at Tara, her mouth slightly agape.

 Kai chuckled, "I don't have to worry about that. Soccer practice and school keeps me busy enough. No girlfriend for me. Not unless a super special lady comes along."

 He winked as he spun the ball in between his middle fingers.

 Ellie quickly linked arms with Tara.

 "We should be getting back. I still have other places to show her. See you later Kai!" Ellie said, dragging Tara away.

 He nodded and shot them a wave before kicking the ball into action and joining the other three guys in their practice.

 "We could've stayed and talked to him longer." Tara said, staring at Ellie with a look of confusion.

 "No, no. Besides my drink is empty and I didn't want to stand around with an empty cup for so long." She pushed her glasses up with her middle finger.

 Ellie had completed the tour later that night after showing Tara the Dining Hall and the office buildings.

 She'd seemed to be tense throughout the rest of it, although Tara wasn't sure why.

 The next day, she sat in class – her first class.

 Her body trembled, her leg fidgeted. What did Tara know? Would she fall behind or would she excel?

 The professor gave the lecture, and she did her best to take notes, although she felt too flustered to be able to fully pay attention.

 She was NOT prepared for this at all. She should've made up some excuse to her 'mom' why she couldn't go to university or why she was dropping out or something like that.

 It also didn't help that the guy beside her kept staring at her the whole time.

 Tara didn't want to turn to look at him, afraid of what the look on his face might say.

 Did he think she was ugly? Was she so ugly she was like a car accident? You knew you should look away but you just couldn't?

 Once their class finished, she rushed out of the classroom, absolutely ready to get the day over with already.

 "Hey! I don't think I've seen you before. Are you new here? I don't recognize you from last year's crowd."

 He was super cute. She pressed her lips together and nodded, trying to contain her pounding heart.

 His wavy black hair fell over his eyes and bobbed back as he shook his hair to get it out of his face.

 He leaned forward and gently tilted her chin up, staring into her eyes with his beautiful hazel ones.

 "I'm Noah. You're pretty cute. What's your name?"

 Her mouth opened and closed as she stared deep into his eyes, unable to think. All she knew was her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, with only enough room for his words to get by.

 "Heh. It's refreshing that such a beauty can be so shy."

 Tara inhaled sharply as he leaned into whisper in her ear, his lips ghosting across her skin.

 She could feel the heat of his breath as he spoke, and it sent chills down her spine.

 "I wonder if you're still innocent?"

 Just then, his hands gently ran down her sides.

 "EEEEK!!" Tara grabbed his hands and shoved them away, jumping before she ran off.

 What was that?! WHAT WAS THAT?!

 No one had ever touched her like that before. Or even said something like that before!

 She ran into an empty classroom, shutting and locking the door behind her as she leaned against it.

 Her heart was pounding, her lungs weren't allowing the air she needed to get in. She just needed a moment to compose herself.

 As she turned around to go sit at a seat, she jumped…she wasn't alone.