Although it had only been a few days since her encounter with the fascinating and amiable Stella Gibson, Dana had to admit that it felt as though it had been years since she'd laid eyes on her. There was no denying the excitement that was already bubbling up in her body, starting from the tips of her toes and slowly climbing up to where butterflies were growing in her stomach. There was restlessness in her movements as she hitched her backpack further up on her right shoulder, a slight skip in her step as she headed off to her Criminology class.

Her excitement dissipated and was suddenly replaced with an unbearable fear that consumed her. however when she arrived to the class, hazel eyes scanning desperately over the sea of bodies unable to catch sight of the golden locks she'd grown so familiar with only after a matter of days. Dana felt her heart sink, exhaling softly as she shifted to take a seat, short nails drumming nervously on top of the table. Her eyes darted to the door the second someone walked in, her disappointment only increasing at the realisation that they weren't Stella.

Dana forced her eyes to focus forward, she felt ridiculous looking out for the other woman. It was irrational and senseless of her to obsess so easily over being in Stella's company. Yet she couldn't help herself. Around Stella she didn't have a care in the world, she constantly felt as though she were walking on clouds around her, elated to the point that she never wanted to come down from the high her presence gave her.

Stop being so ridiculous, this is an elective remember? You shouldn't obsess over Stella just focus on your studies instead.

Her mind berated her and Dana sunk down into the chair in exasperation when she noticed their lecturer walking into the classroom. There was no way Stella would be this late, could she?

It was as though she'd appeared out of thin air and Dana almost jumped out of her skin at the sensation of a presence beside her, catching a glimpse of flaxen locks shining under the lights in their classroom. She could have sworn her heart skipped a beat in that minute, a grin spread across her lips so wide it could have spilt open the skin on them.

Stella was here.

The pair barely spoke a word as Stella organised her belongings on the desk in front of her, Dana was too busy twirling a pen between her slender fingers. Torn between paying attention to the lecture at hand or instead focusing on the woman by her side that had unequivocally captivated her attention. Dana's eyes drifted to the side, taking in her features, wanting to memorise every dip and curve of her body; the sharpness of her cheekbones, the way her face hollowed slightly compared to her own rounder cheeks. The icy blue of her eyes she always found herself captivated and lost in, as though a simple gaze from Stella could swallow her whole.

The feelings she felt towards Stella, Dana knew were more than just their little one nightstand. There was a deeper connection she felt underlying her attraction to Stella Gibson, although she would have to sort through a mimosa of feelings before she could even determine what she wanted. A logical part of her brain had already told her nothing would come from it; Stella was out of her league. She'd never even dated a woman before! How could she even come to a conclusion without contemplating other options first, even trying to consider how Stella felt was another thing entirely.

A soft touch to her wrist by familiar fingers broke Dana from her reverie, almost jumping out of her seat with the pure electricity that passed through her body at the realisation that Stella was trying to get her attention. She cleared her throat nervously, blinking a couple of times before she realised what was happening, an embarrassed flush spreading across her cheeks and colouring them a light pink.

"Dana, the lecturer asked you a question." Stella murmured in a half whisper, but the bemused smirk across her lips made her cheeks turn even darker at the amusement Stella obviously felt about the question.

"Welcome back Dana." The lecturer added, exasperation lacing the woman's voice as she spoke.
"Now, mind answering the question?"

"Sorry, what was it again?" Dana questioned, wishing the floor could open up underneath her and swallow her whole within that instant. She was still slightly aware of Stella's lingering touch on her wrist, her fingers just curled around them whether for comfort or support, she wasn't entirely sure.

By the time class had finished, Dana's blush still hadn't dissipated, in fact it had only grown in size as Stella had lingered closer to her during class. It had only been light touches of her fingers grazing along her skin, nudging her to get her attention to copy notes she'd missed throughout the lecture. Or simple questions they had to discuss and present as a pair to the lecturer. Each slight touch was enough to make Dana's heart skip a beat, goosebumps rising on her pale flesh.

She collected her books with shaking hands to place into her bag while Stella spoke absentmindedly and for a split second she wondered if Stella just understood the effect she had on her. But she brushed it to the side, swinging the bag up onto her shoulders and following her out of the classroom.

"You know that was kinda cute." Stella spoke, her words were bold and obviously meant to tease at her playfully. The twitch of her lips as Dana felt her cheeks grow warm at her taunting, trying to bow her head in her embarrassment, a curtain of red locks thankfully covering her face as she tried to recover.

"It wasn't cute it was embarrassing. You're distracting, has anyone told you that?" She finally huffed exasperatedly, exhaling softly and blowing the locks of hair out of her face, tucking the rest behind her ear that didn't initially move.

Stella's expression barely changed from the cheshire like grin that had stayed on her lips, instead she arched one manicured brow out of curiosity. Dana could tell she was processing the information with the flicker in her blue eyes, that she was storing it away for later.

"No-one has, you're the first. But I'll keep that in mind." Stella replied without skipping a beat, a chuckle slipping from her lips that only made Dana's cheeks turn a further carmine.

"If I'm not going to be too much of a distraction…" Stella started, chuckling again as she eyed Dana.
"We should meet up later for lunch. I have to do some study first, but it'd be nice to take a break with you. It'd give me some motivation too."

Dana's eyes widened a little at the offer, barely able to form a coherent sentence, no words forming on her tongue. All she could give her was a soft nod of her head, eliciting another chuckle from Stella's lips.

"Good, good. I'll message you later. Take care Dana."

She couldn't take her eyes off Stella as she walked away with a little wave of her fingers, Dana refused to take her eyes off her until she was out of sight.

The entire time though the butterflies never left her stomach.