It Was Supposed To Be A Love Story: Part 1

It was supposed to be a love story. That was what Mike kept trying to remind himself each time he was alone in his apartment and looking at the few photographs that he had of him and Irene. A love story. They met in college while both were pursuing degrees in computer science, he a sophomore, she a freshman. Some might even claim it to be a match made in heaven, for their quirks matched each other nearly perfectly. Of the two he was the more quiet, an introvert some might even say, while she was the one who was more out-going, always going out to parties, concerts, meeting new people, making new friends. He did not like parties at all, preferring a more scholarly existence while during college. They had met at a mutual friend's housewarming, a coincidence more than anything else. It being a housewarming, he found it sufficient of an excuse to leave the house to attend it even though the social aspect scared him, while she was still trying to learn her way around campus during that first semester and was naturally drawn to a party where there was at least one person she knew.

They met, and they started talking almost immediately, as though some unknown attractive force had taken over them and brought them close together. As the party heated up, the two of them found themselves moving away to quieter corners of the house and continued their chat, up to and until the party was over. Their mutual friend had taken a glimpse of where the two of them were when the party was concluded, but decided against asking them to leave, seeing that Mike was at least enjoying himself with the company of another, something that was a rare sight. Years later, when Mike asked her why she did not throw the both of them out of the house at the end of the party, she would simply reply that it was not the right thing to do then.

They chat through the night, sitting in the foyer under the lights. It was fall, and the weather was cool enough to lull the summer bugs into a slumber, leaving them to hover about farther away from the dangling lights. It was only when they saw the glint of the sun's rays that they realised how long they had been talking with each other. Mike did not know what possessed him that day, but he mustered the courage to ask her out for coffee some time. Irene, with her usual friendly self, readily agreed, though she blushed a little, as though she had already known what was coming up even before Mike knew where it was all heading.

(Story continues here.)