Ever since I have returned to university a certain someone has never failed to catch my attention. A Chinese kid named Charlie Liu. Okay, he’s not a kid. He’s just a year younger than me, but he looks like a kid.  I find it surprising that I’ve been noticing him a lot more than I thought. This is the second time we’ve met, and I’m not exactly sure why I decided to sit next to him this lecture.

At first, I thought he wanted to pick a fight with me, seeing as he wouldn’t stop taking glances at me back at the coffee shop, but now I don’t think that’s the case.

Earlier today, I could tell that he was a bit drained. However, the moment his eyes fell onto my drawing, they filled up with life in no time. I liked his reaction to my drawing, so I showed him more. His expression was cute, grinning from one ear to another while admiring my sketches. I didn’t think anyone would enjoy my drawings as much as I do. 

But then Charlie asked something I never expected. He wants to make a Webcomic with me. It’s not an odd question, but a really surprising one since it came out of nowhere.

“Never mind, forget it.” Charlie says as he gets up from his seat, and I finally snap out of it.

What? He can’t just ask me something like that and tell me to forget it. He hasn’t even heard my answer yet. Okay, maybe it’s my fault for staring at him for the past few minutes. I just needed some time to think. 

“Wait,” I put my hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t even answer you yet.”

He avoids my eyes. “Well, I thought I was making you uncomfortable and that you were thinking of a way to say no to me without seeming rude.”

Okay, ouch. I wasn’t thinking of rejecting his idea at all.

I huff out a breath as I take my bag. “I am not opposed to the idea.”

“Really?” Charlie’s eyes light up again. He is so easy to read. 

I nod. “But let’s talk about this another time. We both have lectures to attend to.”

We both part ways, and I stride to the next lecture hall. I actually have never thought of creating webcomics with my art before. It has never really crossed my mind. I believed it was too much of a chore. Well, I still think it is, having set deadlines, the pressure and the fear of it not being successful. 

But the way Charlie’s face lit up in an instant when I agreed, his fixated gaze on mine when he uttered his question, I didn’t think he could do those expressions. His eyes were rather blank when I first met him with his shoulders slumped forward as if he didn’t want to be here. Charlie is… quite interesting. 

“Why the hell are you grinning like that?” a familiar voice says from behind. 

“Morning to you too, Jayson.” I say and we both take a seat. 

“No, but seriously. What’s got you so giddy this early in the morning?”

“Stop it,” another voice to my left says. I lift my head to see Louis taking a seat. “It’s creepy.” 

“What a load of friends you are. Can’t a man smile?” I scoff and shake my head. 

“No.” both say in unison. 

But as soon as they return to their own things, I quickly swipe my camera on my phone and take a look at my face. What I find is myself grinning, just like they said. I wipe it off. It took one person to make me look like a fool. I mean, Charlie is cute I have to admit that, but he isn’t my type. He really isn’t. 

I don’t usually go for Asian guys, but it’s not even his ethnicity. Loud, extroverted guys are more my taste. The ones who know how to party and have fun. I, myself, enjoy clubbing as much as I enjoy drawing in silence, and Charlie doesn’t seem like a guy who’d go out for drinks on a Friday night.

I may have said that, but then why am I so bummed out again that we didn’t that we didn’t get to meet today? The week’s almost over and we haven’t talked ever since. Sure, I can send him a text but that seems desperate. Charlie was the one who wanted to work together anyway, so he should hit me up first.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I fetch it out. A text message pops up on my screen and my mood brightens. 

“Hey. It’s me, Charlie. Do you want to meet up and talk about the webcomic?”

I answer immediately. “Yeah, sure. Where and when do you want to meet?”

He reads it. I wait patiently. Watching the dotted lines on my phone wiggle up and down until it disappears.

“Tomorrow.” another message follows soon after “Is my place okay?”

His place. His place? “Yeah, just text me your address.”

“XXX, you can come any time after 1 pm.”

“Alright, cool. See you then.”