The harsh December winds irritated Scarlet more than anything today. Although she usually loved the liberating feeling of the wind blowing in her hair, she didn't like the bitter cold that came alongside it due to the heavy rainfall this time, causing goosebumps to form along her covered arms and legs, and a shiver to run through her entire body. Her fingertips had begun to feel numb through her thick gloves when the train she had been waiting for finally appeared in front of her. She walked onto a carriage of the train along with her father & he quickly found a pair of vacant seats, signalling for her to come and sit beside him. A young man intercepted her path and took what would have been her place. After a brief roll of her eyes & a quiet murmur about chivalry being dead she took a seat opposite him, not bothering to look at the man she considered an intruder. Scarlet, as she always did when sat on a train, began counting the stops to their destination, forgetting her previous frustration and hoping that the train driver would soon close the doors and start moving.
"...we were supposed to stop here for one and a half minutes to listen to an announcement, but... err, the announcement has been done so I'm uh, just gonna go now..." The train driver could be heard over the tannoy, his voice echoing throughout the carriages of the packed train. Together, everyone shared a laugh at that moment, wondering why on earth the train driver would point out such an irrelevant piece of information.
That's when she caught his eyes on her; the same man from earlier was watching her smiling face intently. She didn't know how long he had been staring at her face for, but she noticed his gaze slowly shifting; Scarlet squirmed in her seat as she realised he was scrutinising her every feature. From the corner of her eye she noticed him observing her apparel closely; her red scarf wrapped snugly around her neck, her black coat that clung to her every curve, her skinny jeans that did very little to hide the shape of her legs underneath & ending on her heeled tan boots, which were her personal favourite.
She suddenly began to take great interest in the carriage around her, but hesitantly looked up again only to meet his unblinking gaze still on her. She gazed down at her bag, her shoes, anything to escape his penetrating gaze and prevent herself from blushing further but it was to no avail - just that one look had her pulse racing. After giving him a shy smile, she quickly managed to absorb herself in memorising every detail of her father's worn-out, brown shoes so she missed his reaction.
As Scarlet saw the mysterious man pull what looked like business cards out of his pocket, her breath hitched. What would her father say if he approached her? What would she say? His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the cards in front of him, lost in deep thought, and she used this opportunity to observe him as he had previously observed her. The first thing that had captured her attention were his eyes that just couldn't be ignored; those chocolate orbs that sparkled as he laughed earlier had a magnetic quality to them. His dark hair was unruly with a few waves & he had a slight stubble that roughened his smooth porcelain skin - Scarlet found herself wondering how it would feel to graze her fingers along that stubble, how it would feel to have her lips against the rough hairs & blushed at the thought. He dressed well, she concluded, after taking a good look at his grey checked woolly neck scarf, his maroon jeans & beige hiking boots, her gaze lingering on the unbuttoned denim shirt he wore with a grey top underneath; hard as she tried Scarlet couldn't make out what the slogan on his top was but the more she stared at it the more she found herself wondering what was under the flimsy material.
She didn't realise she had been staring at him until the train stopped at one of its designated stops & she was jolted out of her reverie. Had he observed her as intently as she did? Just then, a plump woman sat down on the train next to her, crying hysterically whilst on the phone. Scarlet was at a loss for to do so she sat silently, noticing a sympathetic smile directed at her from the man opposite. She smiled back, enjoying their silent communication. Who was he? What did he do? Although she knew these questions would remain unanswered, this man had definitely intrigued her
As the train stopped at her stop, too quickly this time, Scarlet rose up from her seat and, with one last smile directed at the stranger she had connected with, walked off the train.
Although she knew they would most likely never meet again, she found herself smiling like an idiot at the memory of him. She welcomed the bitterly cold air and embraced the raindrops, not noticing the raised eyebrows her oblivious father directed at her due to her sudden mood alteration.
Author's note: Just something I was inspired to write after a pretty eventful, yet brief, journey on a train today. Not Arnav & Khushi as this is an OS and held no relevance to their story. The majority of this is fact with a little fiction thrown in for good measure ;)
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