Without thinking Yana, with the box still in her hands, ran to Luka and got between him and the guys.
"Stop!" she shouted and all eyes that fell on her widened in surprise.
Yana noticed the awkward position she was in. She felt like the naive female lead in those romance dramas that protected the male lead with her arms stretched out while terribly misunderstanding the situation, which was true in some sense.
Only, Yana's hands tightly gripped the lunchbox while she backed Luka into the wall who was a head above her while the two guys in front of her, with their hands in their pockets, just stared at her.
"Who are you?" guy 1 asked while guy 2 bumped him in the sides, "Isn't that Yana? You know the Yana?"
"As in Yana and Mia?"
"Dumbass, it's Mia and Yana."
"No way!"
Suddenly the two guys started to fight each other over the order of their names.
Yana was already accustomed to it. Either the people already knew her or associated her with Mia in one sentence, but she didn't care.
Seizing the opportunity, Yana grabbed Luka by the hand and pulled him with her, while the two clowns still didn't catch on.
Together Yana ran towards an empty corner on the campus that was a little green space. Collapsing on the bench, Yana caught her breath while Luka still stood and only stared at her for a brief second before he walked away.
His deep eyes sent a shiver down her spine and her body broke out in goosebumps. As Luka walked away, Yana saw his broad shoulders but also how lonely it seemed to be.
"Hey," Yana called out to him but Luka didn't stop, "I'm talking to you, Luka!"
Yana caught up to him and her slender hand grabbed his shoulders, with a slight force she managed to turn him around.
Their eyes met and once again Yana felt the unease he exuded but quickly held the box out to him.
"You weren't at lunch, so I guess you haven't eaten yet. I made this myself so please have a try."
However, Luka's gaze rested on the lunchbox before his lips curled into a sneer. It was only for a brief second but Yana unmistakenly saw the mockery. Her eyebrow twitched.
"Isn't that a bit rude? I'm actually here sharing my dear food with you and you- hey! You can't just go!"
As Yana was in the middle of talking Luka just walked away. But Yana wasn't discouraged from that, instead, the burning flame of justice struck her asking her to please punch some manners into Luka with her godly-sent fist.
Catching up to him, Yana walked by his side and followed him everywhere while evading his attempts to ditch her somewhere as endless words poured out of her mouth.
A slight vein throbbed on the sides of Luka's face, she saw it and took delight in it, putting more effort into clinging onto him.
"You have to eat it while it's still warm, once it is cold some of the flavours won't be brought out that well. I put in a lot of effort. When I saw your face and the dishes you ordered in the restaurant, I thought, 'What kind of food person is Luka?'
"You strike me as a juicy meat person, maybe someone who likes broccoli but also fruits, not too much sweets and oh, how was the restaurant's food? Was it good? It was rude of you to just walk away-"
And so endlessly, effortlessly a stream of water flowed out of Yana while Luka desperately searched for an escape.
"By the way, who were the two guys? Were they bullying you? I can't believe it, if someone's being mean to you tell me! I help you!"
Luka prayed for Yana to just suddenly disappear, he wished he could tell her she was the one bullying him, but this would only add more fuel to the fire. So in the end, all he could do was to silently endure and ignore her.
Until he was finally set free by the end of the lunch break, "I'll catch you later," however these words caused terror to well up in Luka. Couldn't she just leave him alone?
Yana could more or less guess what went through his head but it was only more amusing to her, making the enemy kneel and giving in, that was her plan.
"Oh," before she left, she remembered that Luka didn't even have time to eat and she felt bad for him, so he pressed her lunchbox into his hands.
"It's seriously good. See ya!" although she has never even tried it herself.
She just believed in her cooking skills. Believed Luka wouldn't get food poisoning in the worst case. He looked like a sturdy guy so he should be fine.
Meanwhile, Luka stared at the lunchbox with a complicated look before actually putting it in his bag. It wouldn't be good if he threw it away somewhere here. Yana could always discover it, thus once he got home, he'd decide what to do with it.
The rest of the day passed with Yana relentlessly using any break and excuse to look for Luka and once she did, she clung onto him like there was no tomorrow.
It caused the surrounding people to gossip in surprise seeing those two but neither Yana nor Luka cared.
Only thing Yana cared for was to get on Luka's good side while Luka wanted to get rid of her.
This lasted the entire day. Even after uni, Yana stuck next to Luka in the library, before he couldn't endure it and left.
"Are you going home now?" it was already evening but it was summer so it was still bright.
They walked alongside the main building while Yana watched Luka's side profile.
The more she looked at him, the more handsome he became and the more she wondered why he was alone and an outcast.
"Hey, you've got something in your hair," a leaf flew in the wind before it settled on Luka's head and nestled itself into his hair. The fresh green with the black of his hair gave off a vibrant feeling.
Yana reached out to take it before Luka grabbed her hand and pinned her against a wall. His eyes showed he was furious and the grip on her hand slightly hurt but seeing Yana's pained expression, he eased the force considerably.
Yet his voice held such animosity when he said in a low voice, "What the hell do you want from me? Why the fuck are you so clingy?"
Yana was pleasantly surprised, not because he actually talked to her but because his voice was soothing and nice on the ears, like a wave in the dark night crashing onshore.
Yan was backed up against the wall while he towered a few centimetres over her. Suddenly, she got very self-conscious. She has never dated any guy or was ever in such close proximity to one.
But the other thing that fazed her was the clean and pleasing smell of him that lingered around. She was tempted to brush the strands of hair away from his face before noticing the ridiculousness of this situation. Wasn't this just like a drama again?
"I asked you something?" Luka's eyes were intense but now the anger dissipated and only annoyance was left, "You wanted me to talk. Here, I did, so don't keep quiet. What do you want?"
"I only want to get close to you," Yana realised that her words came out wrong and added, "The professor recommended you for a research project that I'll be doing, so I need you to help me."
Suddenly, Luka's lips curled up, "Heh, what's in for you?"
For Yana? Shouldn't he ask for him? And why did his smile only make her feel more uncomfortable?