#sc you answer that for the class; you are the one that went for a hug with old classmates!

[zhivchik]

[vorrentis]

Male Reader x Mina - Blind Love (Part 2)

IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER FOR THIS!

Anyway! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, SORRY it took a while to get a sequel and hopefully I did the moments here justice.

Especially the details of Mina being our eyes.

Tried my best to go into it.

AND this chapter isn't what most of you would have wanted as this is more of a bonding experience with Mina. 

Gotta build up that chemistry before we make history.

If it's not your liking well, I 'm sorry and hopefully the next chapter will be, but if it is then great!

SO! ENJOY!

WORDS: 22498

===================================

DING...DING...DING

"Alright class, pages 12 and 13 okay." The teacher called out as the kids ignored the teacher and started to rise from their seats to head to lunch.

You, not having much, placed your slate into your bag and waited, staring down while hearing the conversations going on.

"I wonder what's for lunch?"

"Thank god it's Friday..."

"I want to take a nap."

"I'm gonna need help with homework..."

You heard each want or complaint till the one you were waiting to hear from behind.

"Ready (YN)~"

Sana's voice was heard as you turned to your right.

She got up from the seat behind you with her items and smiled down as you picked your bag up and stood up with Sana.

"Yeah,"

"Hand,"

You held your hand up and Sana grabbed it and started to guide you along as you followed behind, "also we need to go to my locker, that okay?"

"Course," you answered as Sana nodded, and away the two were.

Now you weren't able to, but multiple sets of eyes were on you both walking out of the room, and upon hearing the many conversations and openings, and closing of lockers, you knew you were in the hall.

"You good?" Sana asked.

"Yeah, you would think it would get easier to roam around." You said as Sana, maneuvering the students, held onto your hand tight.

"It gets busy as busy can get, especially with lunch. But we are not going to let you go alone with the stairs." She turned her head to you looking forward.

"I wouldn't either." You agreed as Sana hummed, turned back forward, and headed toward her locker.

This was the norm since Monday and it was doing well as the days went by for the transitions between each of the three girls; meeting after classes to guide you and to sit by you.

Course, being high school, other students were curious about you and being with the three girls.

Some felt as though you were faking and even asked you if they expected a cane or even a dog...yeah, a dog.

You merely chuckled and explained it was no need and the girls, whoever was with you, stated they were your guide...much to the dismay of most of being with three very attractive girls.

Regardless, everything seemed to be going smoothly till this morning with Mina and Reo.

Afterward, Mina informed Sana when she came into class and Momo via text.

Sana loathed bullies and to know that one was picking on you was way too much for her to handle. She was fumid and constantly asked at that class, after, and this past class, and...

"And here we are, just give me a minute, stand right here," you heard her and she upheld your hand after having you move a step to the right and figured she was opening her locker.

You remained still as Sana spun the lock to her combo and opened the rectangular slab of metal, but before she did anything else, she turned to you looking a bit to her left, straight at the lockers.

"So are you really okay (YN)?" She asked as you smiled at her question.

"For the past five times, I'm fine Sana, the two think they're funny. What worries me is Mina." Sana nodded, "I just want to know if she's okay. I wanted to tell the teacher about what he said to her."

"Well, Mina doesn't let it get to her. But with what he was doing to you, I don't blame her for this morning," Sana reached to get her box lunch from the top section, "I still can't believe Reo is like that."

"Yeah. Mina told me he was like that since last year."

"It has. It hasn't been so bad I guess. But he did get more talkative with her when the school year was ending. Momo and I told on him, but other than a conversation, it didn't help since he wasn't really doing anything but chatting. Mina thanked us but said it was nothing to be fed up about. Thankfully he toned it down after that and we hoped he wouldn't after school resumed. Guess not."

SHUT

Sana closed her locker and turned her body to you.

"Why her specifically?" you asked.

"Cause he thinks Mina's attractive," Sana answered, "but he's too dumb to realize that Mina doesn't want anything to do with him."

"Wow, well if he's been trying since then, she must very attractive." You stated as Sana rose a brow as your realized what you said out loud, "uh sorry, that sounded a bit weird."

Sana held in a giggle and smiled at your thought...then figured that you couldn't even know what Mina looked like, neither of the three.

She wondered if you'd been imagining what they looked like in your head at the moment, but not the time to think as she didn't want you to feel apologetic.

"Hehe, it's okay (YN), Mina is very pretty,"

You nodded...and then a thought came up...

"Do you and Momo have issues with him or anyone else too?"

"Not us, Reo seems to only go with Mina. Although his friend tries to hit on us before, he was actually smart and backed off." She trailed as you nodded.

"Yeah? Well then you and Momo must be very pretty as well," you stated, not wanting to make Mina the only one feeling like that as Sana smiled in a cute manner.

"Hehe~ ah (YN)~ you're making me blush~"

You shrugged in response as Sana felt happy that you called her that...but that smile faded as she kept looking at you.

"...But now it scares me that Reo's gonna be messing with you now. Since you're with us three." Sana looked at you as your expression remained the same.

"Well there are people that are going to be like that Sana, I know it's not gonna be all perfect or nice." You shrugged, "don't worry. Reo sounds like a handful, but if anything does happen, I'll let you three know."

"Oh we'll know if he picks on you again, after all, you're stuck with us," and like that, Sana's had a shift in her tone as you smiled at her, "still (YN), I'm sorry that had to happen to you. Especially on your first experience of school."

"It's fine Sana, I appreciate your concern for Mina and me, but hey, at least I have you three to counter him. He's bad and you three are great."

Sana let out a gentle sigh and gingerly smiled at yet another compliment, Mina was right when you saw the bright side in most things.

"Alright," you nodded, "well if he does anything, we're not going to let that slide okay?" you repeated your notion, "good, I got my lunch so hand please~"

She asked and you held your hand out once more as Sana took it into hers and the two were off to meet the other two.

Sana, while slowly weaving her way past the less crowded students as most were already in lunch, smiled at the compliments you gave her.

'Even if he wasn't blind, he doesn't deserve to get picked on. We'll make sure it won't happen again. Still...' Sana stopped for a moment as you did as well, feeling her slowing down, thinking there may have been some obstructions in front, but Sana took a few seconds to look at you, 'he's brave for standing up for Mina.'

And Sana picked up the pace once more.

—-----------------

After a slow and careful walk, you heard the usual talk and laughter in the halls but now added with clashing of plastic and metals, assuming utensils as Sana kept on pulling you.

"We're almost there." Sana notified as you nodded and then...the talks seemed to be lowered and behind you.

"Mina~ Momo~" Sana waved her free hand, carrying her lunch as the two turned to Sana with you behind her.

Both Mina gave a faint smile and Momo frowned while glancing at you.

"And you're here with Momo," Sana guided you to your seat as you patted and felt the table and sat down with your legs going down into the slot and you felt the bench under you.

"Thanks Sana."

"No problem~" She said now joining Momo once you got settled.

"Hey Mina, Momo." You said looking down while gathering your items.

"Hi," Momo spoke up, but...

"..."

Both Sana and Momo noticed Mina simply observing you, almost studying you as Sana waved a hand in front, getting Mina's attention quickly.

"Mina?" Sana called out to her as you heard and slowed your motions.

Mina merely turned to Sana.

"O-oh, sorry, I was thinking of something..." Mina excused herself while picking up her fork and poking at her noodles.

You weren't a hundred percent sure, but your best guess was her thinking about Reo's incident, but you didn't want to budge into her thoughts and continued to lay out your meal.

"That's okay." Sana said bringing her lunch up on the table as Momo took a spoonful of kimchi, "so glad it's Friday. I'm excited for our going out today too," Sana furthered, opening her Tupperware, as Momo nodded.

"...we should do something else on the weekend," Mina suddenly spoke as the three's attention was now on her idea as you opened your Tupperware, "I would like to do more than just shopping you know," she explained and you three nodded.

"I do have an empty weekend to fill up." Sana nodded.

"Let's do it," was all Momo needed to say to be in.

"(YN)?" Mina asked.

"You serious?"

"Course," Mina affirmed, remembering what you said to her as you nodded.

"Okay, though I would have to convince my parents, aka dad," you answered right away, now more excited that it wasn't just today to be hanging out if you were to be able to go.

"Well, he should be okay since the four of us will be together. It's set then~" Sana smiled as the other two nodded, "let's talk about it at the mall, right now, I'm hungry...itadakimasu!"

And so the four started to eat...scratch that, three of you were.

Momo, being next to you, was overlooking you and your spoonful of rice going right to your mouth as you were facing downward.

Momo had a lot of questions for you when they first met, some she didn't think to ask as she figured it may have come out wrong, but you didn't seem to mind answering any and all that she had as days went on and were delighted to be buddies with you as you brought a new addition of humor and interest to the group.

Upon hearing what Reo did, Momo didn't know how anyone would want to pick on you and it hurt her more than Reo went to a new low level to you, a blind person.

She thought people can be despicable.

She never liked Reo or Satoshi and now, she despised him.

She wanted nothing more than to have him be in trouble, but Mina told her what you said and that to let it be for now.

Still...

"(YN)?" She asked as you turned in her direction, not on her but to the left of her, "I'm happy you're with us."

That caused the other two to raise their eyes at you as you smiled.

From what Mina told you, Momo was the most sensitive of the three.

"I'm happy I'm with you as well Momo."

Momo was at ease at the response and nodded as Sana and Mina smiled as well.

"Want some Kimchi for your rice?" She shook her container.

"Thank you, but I'm okay. Arigato Momo."

"Alright," Momo nodded and soon the four resumed eating and started to-

"Hold on," that got the attention of the table to you, "sorry you three, but can I ask you three something before we start?"

"Sure," "what is it?" Two of them asked as you inhaled slowly.

"It's early of me to ask considering I haven't asked my parents yet, but how long would we be out for?" You questioned as the three shrugged at one another.

"I don't know, usually like eight or something, you got something to do tonight?" Sana asked as you smiled and shook your head.

"It's embarrassing, I just wanted to spend a lot of time out."

They smiled upon hearing your statement and even Momo went...

"Aww~ that's cute (YN)~" and for once in your life, you were glad to be rid of sight to avoid the embarrassment of looking at the three.

"Well, then be prepared (YN), 'cause we three can shop like no other~" Sana's tone was up a notch as you nodded.

"Great," you said as Mina turned left.

"And since tomorrow is Saturday, we'll be spending as much time as we can, walking around, the food court, visiting each store seeing what's go-...may I ask about your shopping experience?" Sana questioned as Momo watched and Mina would listen.

"It's in and out. Dad's not really a mall person and mom isn't a clothes person so she would ask a store worker to pick the outfits for me. She describes it and if it sounds nice, it's good for me. Though I'm probably basic looking when not in uniform," you shrugged as the girls figured and no offense to your mom, knew the worker probably threw whatever and called it a sale.

"Well, I'm sure your mom has taste but we'll help you get some new outfits," Sana grinned, "you can trust us (YN)."

"Us three know fashion (YN), we'll make you look great." Momo joined as Mina kept her eyes on you and your smile.

Again, she felt ecstatic to see your emotion like that.

"I do trust you three. Very much."

The three smiled and nodded.

"Then looks like we got work to do ladies~" Momo grinned as the other two laughed with you feeling high-spirited.

—--------------------------------

TIMESKIP

"Hey sweetie," Your mom's voice was heard as Mina guided you to them in front of the school's parking lot.

Rather than waiting inside their vehicle, they stood close to the entrance of the school since Mina would lead you to them.

"Hey mom, dad here?"

"Yeah I'm here, how was it?" He brought up as you nodded.

"Pretty great, I might need some help with homework this weekend."

"You have homework already?" Your dad questioned as you nodded.

"Math and History," you returned as your dad looked concerned.

"Is it possible for you to do it?" He asked as you nodded.

"With Mina's help yeah, but Ms. Vale did say that the school might have something for me to use for homework and even exams. Though because I just got admitted, they couldn't quite get it in time. But Monday or Tuesday for sure." You explained as your mother smiled.

"I'm glad they're doing their best." She stated as your dad nodded slowly, "well then, let's go?" she asked as you turned into Mina's area.

"Mina?" 

"Right." Mina turned to your parents, "Ms. (LN)?"

"(Mother's Name), Mina. I don't mind," Mina nodded, "I'm guessing something's up?"

"Yes, it's sudden, but would you and Mr. (LN) be okay if (YN) joined my friends and I at the mall today?" She asked as your mom smiled while dad...

"Mall?" "That's wonderful,"

"Wonderful?" Your dad questioned her, "honey I don't think it's a good-"

"(Father's Name), he'll be fine." She excused herself as he rose a brow.

"Shouldn't we talk about this first?"

You figured as much.

"We'll take care of him," Mina spoke up to counter, "you don't have to worry," your dad turned to her and then you as you remained looking down.

"When?" Your mom requested as your dad shook his head as well.

"In an hour or less, I'll be coming by to pick him up if he can."

"You got our address?" Mina shook her head, "when you're ready I'll tell you," Mina pulled her phone out to put into text.

"(Mother's Name)-"

"We'll talk about this in the car." She cut your father off while raising a hand as his shoulders fell, and soon as she saw Mina ready, "it's (address)," Mina typed and nodded while putting her phone away, "arigato Mina," you instantly smiled as your dad sighed.

"Thanks, Ms. (LN)." Mina bowed to her and then to your dad and then looked at you and your smile, "guess I'll see you later (YN)."

"I guess so, thanks," you whispered the last part as Mina nodded and unheld your hand after as you walked forward to your folks and your mom patted your shoulder and signaled to have your hand out as she took it.

"Thank you, Mina," she said while giving a slight head bow to her as Mina did the same.

"Thank you for letting him come with us, drive safe," she waved and started to walk away as you and your mom did the same.

"You too Mina." You said back as Mina smiled and then she was off to her vehicle, "thank you for allowing me to go." You said to your parents after.

"Of course (YN),"

"..." your dad was silent as your mom gave a look at him.

"Honey..."

"You didn't think we should discuss this?" Your dad sounded stern.

"What's to discuss? It's not different than him attending here." She replied earnestly, pointing at the building.

"At least the school has safety and protection with staff, the malls a large place with many random people and-"

"Honey relax, that sounds like here as well," your mom countered as your dad licked his lips in tension, "and he's not going alone, Mina with Momo and Sana as well." She listed while remembering what you told them.

"Yeah...okay, but what if something bad happens? They wouldn't know how to handle it?" He looked at your mother, shaking her head in response.

"I'm sure Mina is capable of helping him just as much as any other person." She reasoned to him as he let out some tensed breath, "she's been guiding him around the school (Father's FN), she can certainly do the same at the mall."

"Yeah dad, you can trust her. She's been amazing this past week." You added with your head forward at nothing, encouraging Mina's support.

"..."

"..."

"...is she a good driver?"

Both you and mom weren't surprised by the question.

"I'm sure she's careful." You answered truthfully, obviously not knowing the answer, but knowing Mina, she was.

"'Sure' isn't very positive." He countered as you frowned.

"(FFN)..." He looked to his wife giving off a flat look.

Though it was understandable.

You attending school wasn't easy for him, even with Mina at your side, and now onto another location away from the protective school wasn't making him comfortable.

Your mom alleviated him, but it wasn't as working as she would hope.

"...just...please call us if anything happens alright?" Your dad topped off as you offered a large smile.

"You know I will dad." You confirmed, tilting your head in his direction as your dad gave a few seconds before turning his head and heading towards the car without another word as you both followed.

Silent minutes passed with no conversation happening as the drive happened, but you were excited to be with your friends out and about.

==========================

TIMESKIP

"Okay, you have our card?"

"Yes again," you patted your pocket, 

"Phone charged?"

"And again 100%, Siri is very useful."

"Okay...are you warm-"

"(FFN) he's going to the mall, not out of state," your mom was clearly doing her best to calm her husband down.

"I'm just making sure," your father tapped his knees.

After arriving home, you changed, with the help of mom, and waited in the living room for Mina.

She told you that it would be an hour before she was to be here, but you got ahead in changing so quickly that it was half an hour before the time.

Maybe you were too desperate to-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"And there she is." You stood up from your couch as did your parents with your mom heading towards the door as your dad went to your side while you walked to the door.

"Remember to call every hour." He mentioned as you waved a hand.

"I will, don't worry dad,"

"And if there's trouble-"

"Honey, he gets it." Your mom interrupted as your dad remained still while you held out your right hand to feel the corner of the couch.

You counted your steps to the door as your mom opened the wooden panel to reveal...

"Hello Ms. (LN)."

"(Mom's Name) Mina."

"Formalities." Mina held her hands together and then spotted you approaching your mom's side, resulting in Mina's smile largened.

"Hey Mina."

"Hey (YN), you ready?" You nodded, stepping forward while holding your hand out with Mina taking it in hers.

Your parents watched as you turned your head in their direction.

"I promise I'll text you every hour dad okay. Bye mom, dad."

"Bye sweetie," "Be safe," they both spoke as you felt Mina's hand pull yours and you followed her down the pathway with closeness till they boarded into their car with two others that they met briefly and watched as they rolled down the street.

"I'm happy he's enjoying himself," your mom said as he nodded slowly, "I guess having him go to school wasn't such a bad idea huh?" She said while patting his chest.

"..."

"Honey, he's going to be okay," He took a moment to view his wife before gazing back at the street's end where you were long gone, "it's not like he's alone."

"School is one thing (Mom's Name), but a mall. Whose to know what will-"

"I know what will happen," she rose her voice and turned to him, "he'll have a wonderful time with his new friends, just like he's been having at school. (Dad's Name)," he swayed to her, "I know you want to keep him safe. But he can't be cooped up here forever. I want him to be safe as well, but he's going to have to grow up and experience the world out there and he wanted to have that experience. One week and he has not one, but three sweet and nice-looking friends. And the way he talked about going to the mall with them; he was just as happy when we said yes to letting him go to school. He hasn't been this talkative or excited since..." she shook her head, "I care for his safety, but I also care for his happiness (Dad's Name). Don't you want him to be happy?"

She capped and saw your father's sight lower to the side.

He offered a hesitant look at her and nodded.

"I do want him to be happy as well." He admitted, "as much as I wanted to say no to him, I couldn't tear that smile he had." He licked his lips and took a deep breath, "you're right about everything, I knew (YN) would want to go out eventually, but I didn't know it'd be this quick."

His wife, again, patted his chest in reassurance."

"It's been thirteen years (Dad's Name). He's growing up," he nodded, "everything will be okay, trust me." He nodded again, "good, let's head inside; I'll put a movie on and you can put popcorn."

She grabbed his forearm and pulled him till enough to close the door behind him.

—-----------------------------------------

TIMESKIP

SHUT- SHUT

"Here (YN) I got you," Mina reached out and grabbed your shoulder as you unbuckled your seat on your own after feeling the belt strap down and pushing the button.

"Thanks," you returned as you felt and grabbed Mina's hand and stepped out carefully from the car.

"Just a few steps this way," Mina asked of you as she gently escorted you a few steps and...

SHUT

Mina shut the door behind you and continued to hold your hand and escort you to the back of the car.

"Well, not packed, but not empty either," Sana looked around the cars in the parking lot as they were parked a moderate space away from the entrance.

DING

Mina locked her car as the four huddled while you held Mina's hand tightly in yours, not wanting to let go.

While incredibly excited, there was a part of you that was scared you would get lost amidst a crowd, since you weren't familiar with the concepts of the mall and crowd.

"Let's do this," Momo said as you three nodded and started to walk to the entrance. 

"Excited (YN)?" Sana asked.

"Course," you admitted, aiming your head in the direction of Sana on your right as Momo was on your right, "hehe maybe a bit too excited,"

You explained as the three gave a soft look at one another before smiling at you, feeling content that they were going to make this a happy occasion.

And Mina, after dispersing from you, informed Momo and Sana of what you said after Reo's incident.

To say they were heartfelt was an understatement.

They too were happy that you were experiencing that and strive to make it remain for the rest of the school year.

"Well we feel the same way whenever sales happen here," Momo added, "not a lot of things actually happen here, but sales are pretty good."

"Yes they are." You agreed as your group walked forward.

STEP STEP STEP

STEP STEP STEP

"And here we are." Mina stated as Sana pressed open the automatic doors, you sighed deeply as the mall was an overload to your hearing as you walked inside the establishment.

The chatter of the mall was bright and refreshing, voices ringing around with many conversations going on at once.

The atmosphere was buzzing with tinges of mystery and excitement.

"Sounds busy." You noted.

You spoke up jolting Mina from surveying her surroundings to take a glimpse of you, and sure enough, your head darting around, with a sparkle of wariness and curiosity.

Mina smiled cheerily at your eagerness. 

It was brilliant for you to be so accepting since she wanted to teach you more about the surrounding world, to let you see the world for yourself after you hadn't in so long.

"Somewhat, there are lots of teens which is understandable since everyone is leaving school." Mina explained while observing the various groups of shoppers, "so I hope you don't mind," she asked as Sana's eyes lit up as she eagerly began to bounce in place, clapping her hands out of excitement.

"but we need to start at the k-pop store, I need to see if the albums of Nayeon and Somi are there," Sana suggested as the others nodded.

"There's a k-pop store here?" You questioned.

"Yes, there's one-wait, you into k-pop (YN)?" Sana pointed at you.

"Of course, I don't have a favorite so I listen to whatever. Some I'm eh on, but most are good, I don't know whose Nayeon though, she new?" You asked Sana back as the four started to move ahead.

"I didn't know that (YN)?" Sana said as you shook your head.

"I don't think we talked about our types of music before, but I'm into K-pop for sure," you answered as the three heard.

True, besides lunch, they didn't really talk out of it and they were focusing on helping you adjust.

But as you were blending in so well, they were getting natural, well some things can be better.

"Great! Then we'll check the k-pop store first, then the latest clothing line, maybe a visit to the arcade, a fragrance for myself, oh so many choices~" Sana chimed as the two girls shook their heads at her eagerness.

"Uhm exactly how many departments are here?" You questioned.

"I think the better question is what isn't here," Sana corrected, "there's a department just about for anything," Sana explained as you shook your head.

"Man, mom and I only go to like two stores..." your tone dropped after hearing as the girls mellowed down at how much you truly are missing.

"Well, we're gonna change that," Mina spoke up, disrupting the flow as the other two nodded after seeing Mina turn to them.

"We sure will!" Sana sure was happy, "so what other music are you into (YN)?" Sana turned to you.

"Well both Pop and K-pop, fast, great beat, and fun to listen to, but ironically, I also love to listen to both Classical and Ballets as well," You listed as Mina was...

"Wait? (YN) you're into Ballet?" Mina asked suddenly.

"Yeah, it's heavily enjoyable to listen to for me," You furthered as Momo and Sana turned to Mina, "sure, pop and k-pop are catchy and upbeat, but both ballet and classical are soft, full of heart and soothing to the mind and it relaxes me in a snap. I listen to it quite a lot."

"What composers?" Mina quickly shifted and asked with curiosity, evident in her voice.

"Tchaikovsky, Ludwig, Prokofiev, Adam, Stravinsky," You rose your fingers, "the list goes on, but those are my top five."

Obviously, you couldn't see, but Mina had a smile on her.

"Well guess you and Mina have a lot more to talk about then," Sana grinned as you heard her comment.

"You into ballet Mina?"

"Oh she's way into ballet, Mina's a ballerina. Top of the country." Sana pointed at her quiet friend as Mina tilted her head.

(AN: In adjusting around Mina's backstory for this one so rather than being into K-pop, she's more influenced by ballet. Same with Sana and Momo as they aren't interested in being idols in this one)

"The country?! That's incredible Mina," You showed your wowness as Mina shook her head.

"No, no I'm not, Sana's exaggerating." Mina excused herself as Sana smiled.

"Don't lie Mina~ You're the best in your class. She is the lead captain and won many competitions, she has the medals and trophies to prove it,"  Momo chimed in as Mina was embarrassed to be revealed as such.

"Wow Mina, it sounds like you're talented." You resulted as Mina, while still embarrassed, smiled at your assessment.

"Very talented, you should see her daaa-...." Sana closed her mouth as Momo and Mina turned to her, "uh be there when she performs." Sana quickly fixed herself.

"That's a great idea," you agreed quickly to dismiss what Sana said, Of course you weren't offended by it, but to have Sana forget about it too, "I would love to go to a performance."

'There's that positive outlook.' Mina had in her mind.

"I can arrange that," Mina spoke up as the two girls heard her, "I'm on break till next week though," 

"That's fine, I can wait."

Mina nodded to your agreement as Momo and Sana, who felt bad at her choice of words, agreed as well.

"Then it's settled...actually...no, never mind, I was just thinking." Mina strang a few words as you and the other duo wondered what she thought, "let's go to the music then, but you have to tell me what ballets you enjoy (YN)." Mina sounded as you nodded.

"Course, so I enjoy...

ONE WALK LATER

"...but I'd had to say Grand Pas Class Classique is one of my go-to." You ended as Mina nodded enthusiastically.

"Ah (YN) that's a really good one. That's one that I really want to perform to, but looking at how others perform, it's intense." Mina said as Momo and Sana were in front of the two as they conversed.

The K-pop store was a while to walk to so the two took the time to discuss that topic as Momo and Sana teased each other about their conversation, even Mina was getting into it.

"Well if you're as good as Momo and Sana say, then I know you can do it Mina."

"Hehe~ thanks (YN)." You nodded, "maybe I should tell my instructor ne-oh," Mina stopped as you felt her halt with you doing the same.

"What's up?" You asked.

"Oh, we uh, passed it..." Mina said while spotting both Momo and Sana grinning in front of the store.

You two were in discussion mode so Mina wasn't even paying attention as she trailed back with you in hand.

"Come on," she said and getting close to her friends, "why didn't you stop us?"

"Hehe~ and ruin your talk?" Momo tilted her head as Mina sighed, "come on, let's get in. Luckily there's not a lot of people."

You could hear the faint music coming from within the store already and knew it was BlackPink's newest song 'Pink Venom'.

"Mina?"

"Hmm?" She hummed while turning to you.

"You don't have to, but do you mind describing the room?" You asked as Mina smiled, "I would like to have an image of what the room looks like."

You didn't have to say why, Mina was going to say yes after your request anyway.

It was easy enough to figure why you would ask: curiosity.

"Course, before stepping in," she turned inside, "imagine a rectangular room. Now there are five dividers that don't go all the way, leaving space on the far left and right sides that separate into aisles that come up to your torso with merch and albums of various idols in between, we're going to step inside," she added as the music was now clear, "now there are posters and wall scrolls hanging on the edge between the roof and the walls and even the ceiling has posters flat facing down as well."

You nodded, taking in each description and Mina was making it easy.

"And underneath the posters and taking up the wall are shelves and each consist of groups with their larger items such as lightsticks, figures, dolls, and more various items."

"Wow Mina, you're very descriptive," Mina hummed, "one question, what's a lightstick?" You questioned as Mina turned at you.

That one question caused Mina to frown. 

It felt wrong to think but the list of what you were missing out on gets longer. 

Hearing a song is one thing, to see that artist perform live is another.

She and her duo have been to a few concerts and Sana has brought her own lightsticks waving around to the beat.

It was incredible to witness a singer or group lighting up the stage with marvelous sounds and attractions rocking to their song.

And for you to not be able to enjoy that...

"...Mina?" Guess Mina was a few silent seconds too long upon hearing your name.

"...a-ah sorry, I'm thinking of how to explain," she excused herself as she needed," Mina needed a few seconds to collect herself.

"Sorry," you excused as Mina shook her head.

"Don't be, so lightsticks are, Uhm, these hand-held objects that have different shapes or ornaments that light up at one end. Think of a flashlight that lights up with a certain color and fans wave that around during a song. It's a way to support that person or group." She explained as you nodded.

"Ah, didn't know that."

"Yeah, it's pretty simple but expensive," she said after, "anyway, there's the cashier on the left of us behind their desk and a couple of screens on top of them showing the video of BlackPink, on the other corner there's a couple of demo stations that have headphones and touchscreens to hear songs." Mina looked at a couple of machines, "other than that, that's pretty much the sto-oh, there's a couple of windows on each side of the door that has the most expensive items on display." She looked and turned to see anything else, but no, "yeah, that's what it looks like."

IF YOU WERE TRYING TO IMAGINE AS WELL, LET'S SEE IF YOU WERE CLOSE TO THE IMAGE BELOW

While Mina explained, images were brought into your mind, laying out the general area of the store.

While not able to tell what the stuff was, various sizes and shapes to place in the helm.

"Hmm, yeah I could lay it all out," Mina smiled as you turned in her general direction, "thanks Mina."

"Of course (YN), glad it's clear for you," Mina then turned to the duo of Sana and Momo in the third row, "hey let's join the other two?" 

You nodded as Mina held your hand tighter and brought you to the duo who was looking down the row.

"NMIXX, New Jeans, NCT...oh! here she is!" Sana's voice was heard throughout as Mina shook her head.

"Relax Sana, the whole store just turned to you," Momo sighed as Sana took each one in hand.

"Ah she's so pretty~" Sana admired her newly acquired albums.

"Huh, she looks like Jennie in this one." Momo pointed at one of them. 

"And both are very pretty~"

"Someone's in love~" Momo grinned as Sana didn't care.

"Based on her yell, I'm assuming she got them," you said, "congrats Sana."

"Thank you (YN)~ I'm lucky they had two sets left. Now to find if Somi is around but at least I got Nayeon...oh (YN)," you hummed, "there's a demo station here, want to hear a bit of her song?" She asked as you nodded and Mina guided you towards Sana.

"N for Nayeon~ and...okay, I put the volume on low so say if you need me to raise it higher," you nodded, "and here's the headset, mind if I put it on you?" you shook your head as Sana was gentle on placing a headset on you as you stood still. You reached up and adjusted to fix and after you rose your thumb as Sana pressed play.

Seollemi meotgi jeonе

"Louder please,"

 Sana pressed the 'up' button twice.

I wanna make it

Pop, pop, pop, you want it

Pop, pop, pop, teojigil wonhae

Gasеumi ttwineun i neukkim

I wanna make it

Pop, pop, pop, you want it

Pop, pop, pop, neol gatgil wonhae

The volume went down to silent and figured it was over as you removed the headset while the three looked at you.

"Catchy,"

"I know right," Sana rose her voice as you chuckled and nodded, "you should get her album (YN), there's a set left,"

"Album..." You muttered and then quickly nodded with pace, "yeah," Sana quickly went away to get the other set, "who knows, maybe she'll be my new favorite to follow."

"Oh yeah, she's gonna get popular for sure. 

"And got them," Sana's voice came in very quick, "there's four so I'm not sure if you want all or just one?"

"How much for all?" 

"Twenty-two each but tax so over ninety," Sana explained.

"Hmm...I'll take one, just pick anyone." You asked of her as Sana looked at the four.

"Tough choice...I'll go with this. She looks the hottest here." Sana explained as you nodded, "So we got that settled, I'm sure this will look nice in your collection." Sana assumed.

"Ah I don't have a collection," you pointed out, "that album will be my first," you admitted as Momo and Sana were stunned; Mina not so much, "I know I said I was a fan, but to be honest, I've never needed or wanted albums or merch or anything of the sorts. Even for non-k-pop groups. My parents have asked, but having stuff doesn't do me any favors if I can't spectate them in my room."

You explained with a normal gesture as the three turned to one another with a noticeable frown on each one.

"Oh..." Momo muttered, "sorry (YN),"

"It's all good." You waved it off.

"So why now?" Mina asked as your head turned in her general direction.

"Ahh hehe...it's silly really, but, I want something to have for today," You presented a gingerly smile looking down at the ground escaping their looks...ironic, "as you know, it's my first going around so I want to get at least one thing for every department we get to."

And those frowns turned to genuine smiles as the three hummed or giggled at your words.

"(YN), it's not like we come to the mall every blue moon, we can come here or anywhere you want anytime you want. We all prefer being out somewhere anyway," Mina voiced while pressing into your hand more.

"Yeah, and any one of us will be happy to be with you." Sana chimed in.

"I would." Momo joined as your smile grew.

'Man...I'm lucky for these three...'

"Hehe, right, thanks."

"Course," "Yup," 

"No prob (YN)," Momo said last and then added, "so, since we're still here, there are other groups around, if you got another group in mind, I'm certain they'd be here." Momo looked around.

"I'll think I'll stick with Nayeon first. I'm not sure if my parents would agree with me getting a haul coming back."

"Yeah I guess that's smart thinking, once you start collecting, you'll only be wanting more and more, right Sana~" Momo cooed at Sana as she huffed.

"Hey it's not a problem, it's a hobby AND she has good music. I want to support her." Momo rose her brows.

"I think more than 'support'~" Momo leaned towards Sana.

"You can say that again, she is hot~" Sana grinned as Momo chuckled, "now imma need to find Somi real quick,"

"I'm gonna check out BlackPink, maybe I'll get their new album." Momo walked from the duo as Mina turned to you.

"You sure you want just the album?" 

"Yeah, I'm sure." You answered.

"Okay, let's join Momo yeah?" You nodded as Mina guided you...though...

'Having stuff doesn't do me any favors if I can't spectate them,'

Mina glanced at you and the smile you had on.

Taking in what you said along with what she thought before.

'I couldn't imagine his life before attending school, but as each day passes, it's more daunting than I can think...you're strong (YN)...you really are.'

You felt Mina's grip in your hand tightened, but you weren't complaining.

-------------

After ringing up the albums, which was just the five Nayeons, the group went out of the department and into the middle of the hall of the mall.

"So what's next?" Sana asked while ensuring yours and her stuff was safe.

"I think it's time we get (YN) some new outfits." Momo poked your shoulder as you smiled.

"I'm excited." You gingerly accepted their help as Momo smirked.

"Oh we are as well (YN), now let's find a spot..." Momo pointed out as the four resumed to walk, "what about (Clothing Store 1), which has decent men's attire." Momo suggested.

"Yeah, but it's like plain clothing, (Clothing Store 2) has some fashionable taste," Sana denied and brought her idea to the fray. 

"Wait you two, let's ask (YN), what are you most into?" Mina asked as you shrugged.

"I don't know really," you answered, "but I guess I enjoy loose clothing. I know I don't like button-up stuff or formal wear or tight clothing."

"Loose huh? Long-sleeve? Hoodies?"

"Long as it's not tight, I'm good." You gave them as Mina nodded.

"Okay, I think we can work with that," Mina said as the other two thought away.

"Hmm...well, what about (Clothing Store 3)? It's not exactly trendy, but it does have a variety of each clothing." Sana fronted as Momo turned to Mina.

"She's not wrong," Momo sided as Mina nodded.

"Then that's our next stop," Mina finalized as the two nodded and you were happy to go along with what they have planned.

"Uh, Mina?" 

"Hmm?"

"If you don't mind, may you do the same around us as well as you did in the K-pop store?" 

Mina could only smile.

"Let's see, think of this place as a long hallway like school. Crowds of shoppers going forward on either the left or right, either resting on the benches and chairs or checking their phones. Most are carrying bags bearing store logos and browsing the glass doors and storefront windows where there are bright store signs announcing sales of retail stores with a variety of products such as clothing, housewares, electronics, and music as we were, uh, games and toys, jewelry, and more."

You nodded along at the list of objects as Momo and Sana listened. 

"And then there are the kiosks in between the stores selling jewelry, skin care products, phone accessories, the smaller products. There's bright lighting, a skylight, hideous tile flooring, plants, and a water fountain in the middle of the mall with an elevator and stairs to connect."

"Sounds nice," you commented.

"It's nothing too special though, let's see, there's the food court, but I'll get to that when we get there...uh, you two want to add anything?" She asked the duo as they shook their heads.

"Nope, I think you got it covered Mina," Sana expressed as Momo approved.

"Yeah, not much to describe besides that (YN)," Mina shrugged as you nodded.

"That's okay, it's a pretty good vision. Thanks, Mina, I appreciate it," you told her as Mina hummed.

"Anytime (YN), anytime."

-------------------------------------

TIMESKIP

Sana happily hummed to herself as she walked through the entrance of (Clothing Store).

"And here we are." Sana looked around with you being escorted in.

"So what's this place?" You asked.

"It's (Clothing Store). It's a variety of clothing here that we can mix and match," Sana explained, "I shop with mom for my dad's clothing here all time for birthdays and such. I'm certain we can find something for you (YN)."

"You're going to dress me up as your dad?" You questioned as Sana chuckled in response.

"Hehe~ don't worry, there's more than grown-up stuff. There's quite a mix of everything here, we just have to find a way to mash you up." Sana explained as you nodded, "first things first, the men's section," Sana led on as Momo followed and Mina turned to you.

"Want me to explain?" 

"It's okay, I know exactly since coming to this type is my usual. I'm certain it's as the K-pop store but with clothes instead." 

Mina nodded at your assessment.

"Pretty much, though instead of aisles, it's racks and clothes rail to hang on them and in squares. No posters of idols, but just the latest 'what's in' pics and writing. Other than that, you're right." 

"And I'm assuming you there know the layout."

"Like the back of my hand~" Sana rose her hand and swirled it to showcase, "now then, the men's section." Sana led the group towards the back of the place as you heard the sounds of metal, chatter, and rustling around you.

Even Mina was having you go left and right rather than a straight path as people's voices came closer and further around.

"Sounds busy," you were moving your head around.

"Quite, the line is even longer too."

Mina looked to her left and then forward.

"Hopefully it'll d-oh that's cute~," Momo said as she was looking at each piece of clothing as she passed, "that's cute too~" Momo played with the fabric of a t-shirt...till she saw the price, "cute to look at though...sigh, if only mom wasn't still mad at me for last time."

"With good reason, your card company had to cut your card off," Sana said in the front.

"It wasn't that much." 

"Not to your parents." Sana retorted while pointing at her friend.

'Wow, guess they weren't kidding when they come here quite a bit,' you thought.

.

.

It was about half a minute of walking when Sana...

"And here we are." Sana looked around the articles of clothing folded, hanged and displayed,  "okay, let me get a good look at you (YN),"

"Hmm?" You hummed as Sana stepped in front of you.

"I'm going to get a visual of you," Sana eyed you up and down as Momo joined Sana and Mina stood there, watching her friends checking you out...interesting.

"Should we start with the lower or upper attire?" Sana asked Momo.

"I'd say lower, it's easier to combine with pants," Momo added as you couldn't say much to the conversation.

"Alright, so for loose clothing, of course not jeans so sweats or something?" Sana asked her friend.

"Joggers?" Mina retorted as Sana nodded.

"Those could work,"

"Cargo pants?" Momo looked behind Sana's left while pointing as Sana looked in the same direction.

"You're onto something Momo," Sana went ahead and looked at each article, "these would look good on him. It's not tight with its elastic band and (YN) can work with it. Plus we can match up anything with a pair of black ones." Sana turned with the pants to Mina and you.

"Sounds nice," you put your opinion, "you mind if I feel the texture?" 

"Yeah, here it's right in front of you." Sana held up the pants as you reached out and felt the garment over your hand as you rose it. 

You adjusted your hand over and felt the material with your fingertips.

"Oh yeah, feels good."

"Right?" Sana agreed as you nodded and carried the cargo pants back to the others, "Okay, what size are you?"

"(Size), or (Size #) by (Size #)." Your mom checked before you left.

Sana searched through and found three pairs of your size and took one.

"Great, that's down. Now I'm thinking of a hoodie," she voiced her opinion as Mina agreed.

"I don't think there's a good selection though," Momo pointed out.

"I don't need anything fancy," you spoke after Momo's comment.

"Well let's see. There are over here." Sana lead the group as Mina aided you towards Sana, "Hmm, yeah no graphics or anything standing out, although let's not get too picky," Sana said as she spotted the hoodies hanging on racks.

It ranged from various colors and sizes as Sana combed through each one.

"What color?" Sana shoved a few hoodies as Mina tilted her head.

"Let's go white, it'll contrast the pants." Mina pointed as Sana took out a white hoodie in its hanger.

"Here (YN), this is the material," you did the same as the pants and nodded.

"Yeah that works."

"Okay, (YN), I'm going to press the sweater in front of you, can you hold it on the shoulders?" Sana asked of you as you nodded.

Soon, you felt Sana press her hands on your shoulders and you rose your hands up and pressed the clothing to your shoulders, feeling the hanger in it still.

"And Momo please hold the pants over him," after handing Momo the lower article, she held it over you as the other two thought about the two together.

"I think it works," Mina shrugged as Sana tapped her cheek, "although there's something that could mix this well..."

"..."

"..."

"Overcoat," "An overcoat," both Mina and Sana said at the same time as they turned and nodded at one another as they both smiled at each other's same idea and Sana rose her hands for a high five from Mina.

CLAP

"Oh, jinx. You owe me a soda~" Sana pointed at Mina who frowned.

"What's an overcoat?" You asked.

"It's a type of jacket, but it'll complete the look for you," Sana answered as you nodded, "now then~" Sana clapped her hands together, "luckily, the overcoats are around here I think," Sana pointed at the left of them and skipped her way to the rack with Mina trailing.

"We'll be back," Mina stated to you and Momo as both nodded and Momo saw them walking away.

"Do I still hold this?" You asked as Momo folded the pants over her arm.

"You can let it down," you nodded while lowering the hoodie, "so besides, music is there anything you're into while you're at home?" Momo sounded curious as you shrugged.

"Not really, I guess the most I do in my room is listen to the radio for sports. I also put on movies and TV too. Audio description is a lifesaver."

"Audio description?" Momo asked.

"When there's no dialogue happening, the TV informs the viewer what's going on."

"That's handy."

"It very much is." You nodded, "other than that, I got nothing."

Momo probably should have known that wasn't a great question to ask.

"Well, luckily for you, we can introduce you to many things we like, do you like dancing?" Momo asked upfront.

"Uh...indifferent I suppose. Are you into that?"

"My sister and I dabble in it. We make videos on Youtube, Tik-Tok, and Instagram," Momo shrugged.

AN: Like Mina, Momo's going to be more into dancing on social platforms rather than idol.

"Oh that's cool, are you famous as well?" 

"I don't want to brag, but we do receive lots of views. Though mostly my sister gets the most, she's far better than what I can do." Momo explained as you shook your head.

"Don't say that Momo, I'm sure you're equally as great as her."

Momo smiled and shook her head slightly. While what she said was true, and the fact that you just learned about her this minute, she found it kind of you to support her already.

"Thanks (YN)," 

"Hm-mh, well would you mind if you make accounts for me to follow you? I would like to support you," you asked of her as Momo...

"You don't have any social?"

"Well, there wasn't any point till last week." You reasoned as Momo nodded slowly, "so now I can follow you and maybe the other two as well if they have any."

Momo smiled at your gesture, though the question of how you use the social came up, and she figured to ask later.

"Of course (YN), I appreciate it~" you nodded, "and just to let you know (YN), I did mean when I said that I would like us two doing something together when you want, I don't mind." Momo encouraged you as you smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind Momo, thank you." You gave a head nudge in response as Momo mirrored your action.

"Yup!"

You counted yourself lucky to meet these girls so quickly.

"Sorry you two," Momo turned as you heard Mina's voice, "we saw other clothes next to the overcoats," she explained as Sana was behind her.

"I think he can work some of these outfits too." Sana showed Momo a few other clothing on hangers as Mina carried the overcoat in hand.

"You picked out other outfits?" You questioned.

"Yup~"

"You were only gone for a minute," You calculated as Sana grinned.

"We are masters of shopping (YN)~" Sana mentioned as the other two ladies smiled at her, "now come on, let's try these o-oh,  want to feel the material (YN)?"

"Sure," you held out your hand, repeating your action as before, and felt the jacket, it felt leathery in a way, though if it was going to be over your hoodie, it wasn't going to be a difference.

"Nice." You nodded as Sana nodded back.

"Great, then I have these couple of short sleeve hoodies that aren't clingy to be-

RING RING RING

Someone's phone rang out.

"That's me." Mina spoke up and slide her phone from her pocket, "Probably my pare-oh? It's my instructor," Mina was confused as she looked at the ID.

'Instructor?' You heard.

"Aren't you on break?" Momo questioned.

"Until next week, I'm gonna have to take this." The two girls nodded.

"Sure, here hand me that." Sana reached out and Mina handed her the overcoat.

"Be right back. He can change, don't wait for me."

And with that, Mina walked away with her phone over her ear to start her conversation as the duo watched her for a few seconds before turning to you.

"Okay (YN), let's get you to change." You nodded, quickly disappearing what Mina was talking about as they guided you to the fitting rooms.

"Hello, how many?" You heard a woman's voice in front of you.

"Three for him," Sana answered, and after a few seconds...

"Okay, he can go in any room." The random person responded while she waved towards 

"(YN) this way, it's a corner. Oh, mind if we go with him to guide him to the door? He's, uh, he's blind," Sana explained as softly as possible, even saying that felt sad for her.

The female store attendant looked at you and then back to Sana.

"Long as you don't do any funny business, you can go ahead," Sana recoiled, you were slightly embarrassed and Momo gave a chuckle.

"Hehe, don't worry, no funny business going on here. Let's go (YN)," Momo remarked as the girls ushered you forward to the left as the worker turned to the trio and shrugged.

"Funny business," Sana mocked after the three got into the hall where multiple fitting room doors were ready to be opened, "can't she tell you're really-..." Sana stopped talking and slowly closed her mouth while looking at the side of you.

"I have sunglasses on so she can't tell Sana." You excused as Sana shook her head.

"Still," 

"Hehe, 'funny business'" Momo repeated...and then you felt something going around your neck and right shoulder, "hmm~ interested (YN)?~"

Momo whispered into your ear as your jaw fell slightly with her arm bringing you closer to her as the trio stopped in place.

"M-Momo!?" Sana screeched as Momo grinned at her.

"Teasing! Relax~, although~ (YN) hasn't answered yet~" Momo cooed in your ear as you gulped.

"I-I'm good Momo..."

"Hehe~ For now, ri- Oww!" 

Upon hearing Momo's high-pitched yelp, you sort of jumped in between the two girls.

"What happened?" 

"Sana just hurt me..." Momo rubbed her forehead.

"Don't be dramatic, I flicked your forehead, wasn't that bad," Sana grumbled as Momo glared at her friend.

"That bad? Well, maybe I should return the favor." Momo rose her arm as you remained still.

"So you're okay?" Upon hearing you, Momo took at your look and her glare softened.

'Oh, right...'

"Ah, sorry (YN), I didn't mean to freak you out, me yelling didn't help," Momo apologized back while nodding in return. 

Sana caught on to what Momo was thinking.

"I'm okay, it's nothing, Sana and I mess around like this all the time. Though this time was a lot more force..." Momo pouted as Sana stared at the back of your head.

"Oh, alright, my bad." You answered as Sana realized that you couldn't even see the flick, even though you were looking right at Momo.

"No (YN), no 'my bad'. You didn't know we were messing with another," Sana said as Momo gave a soft nod, "that must be scary, not knowing what's going on," Sana added as you shook your head towards her area.

"It can be, especially when something unexpected happens and I can't tell what 'happened'. Mainly the reason why I was stuck at home and not able to get out, not that I blame my folks. I get it."

"To keep you safe, honestly I'd do the same," Sana said as Momo nodded, "well we'll make sure not to do anything too drastic," Sana said as you shook your head.

"I thank you, but don't change because of me. I don't want you two to mellow down. It's fine."

Both girls looked at one another as Momo shrugged while Sana sighed mentally.

"...alright," you nodded, "uh, we're in front of the dressing room. Do you need help in there?" Sana asked as you shook your head.

"Nah, thanks though,"

You answered as Momo led you to the room as Sana was behind Momo, "okay, we'll be just outside the door if you need us so you don't have to lock the door."

You nodded.

"In you go~ and there's a bench seat here," Momo guided you to the corner and Sana gently placed your clothes on it, "clothes are there and we're leaving okay," you nodded as Momo stepped out.

SHUT

"Alright," you muttered as you manage to sit after patting for the seat to remove your shoes and started to change.

As you did so, Sana and Momo...

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...hey," Momo came closer to Sana and whispered to her, "you okay?"

Sana nodded slowly.

"Yeah, just..." Sana shrugged and pointed at the door of your dressing room.

"I know," Momo whispered.

Both of them were feeling what Sana said about being scared of not knowing what was going on.

To be in the unknown twenty-four/seven...

At least you were away from harm being in your home but didn't please the two girls. 

"Let's just," Momo did a hand wave as Sana took a few seconds but agreed as Momo nodded and took a few steps back, "so you hungry (YN)?" Momo, now at a normal volume, called you out. 

Sana figured that Momo was wanting to change the mood quickly.

"I could eat, but I could wait as well," you answered as Momo rubbed her tummy.

"Well, I'm starving too,"

"When are you not?" Sana let a soft smile out as Momo playfully shoved her shoulder.

"Is today pick on Momo day..." Momo pouted as Sana now grinned, "but really, you want to get something after?" She asked as Sana nodded, "great we'll wait for Mina then...you know I have to shop for clothes myself," Momo looked out to the lobby, "probably not this store, didn't see anything worth trying."

"Yeah, I have to get new outfits as well," Sana shrugged as she looked outward to the store, "hmm...hey (YN)?" Sana turned to the door.

"Yeah?"

"When do you have to go back home?" Momo turned as well.

"Uh, not sure, not late of course,"

"Course, well guess we do have time then,"

"Sweet~" Momo smiled, "how you doing (YN)?" extending the conversation.

"Doing good," Momo nodded as she took her phone out.

"I think we should go to..." 

And Momo and Sana started to converse about the mall as you changed for a couple of minutes...

One talk later

"...then we can go here because I need a new phone case." Sana pointed at her cracked phone case.

"And you say I'm clumsy, you drop your phone like three times a week." Momo waved at her as Sana sighed.

"I do, I need a wriststrap for this thing." She waved her phone ar-

"Sana? Momo? I'm ready. I'm facing the door, I could feel the lock." They both heard and turned to the door.

"Alright, we're going to open the door then," Sana explained as she grabbed the handle and opened it to reveal your new attire consisted of-

-an overcoat over a comfortable hoodie, with cargo pants down to your white sneakers.

Paired off with your sunglasses and you were good to go as the two girls...

"Oh..." "Wow..."

"Hoping that's a good response?" You asked standing still.

"Very actually, uh here, step forward," Sana instructed while you took about four steps, "stop please." You halted your movement.

"Well?"

"You're looking very fine (YN)~" Momo suddenly commented as you smiled.

"Excuse Momo's frontness, but I got to say, she's right (YN)." Sana stepped on your right, "we're next to you so be still okay," you nodded as the two girls roamed around you, "oh yeah, you really pull this off well, a job well done right Momo?"

"Very well done Sana. I mean it (YN), you look hot," Momo grinned as embarrassment shrouded you.

"Momo..." Sana shook her head.

"Hey you agreed." Momo pointed at Sana with a headshake in return once more.

"Whatever, anyway, you do look great (YN), maybe we can style your hair as well," Sana placed a hand over your head, "we could maybe spike it just a bit with gel to get something going, but that's up to you."

"Do whatever you want with me." Having your permission, Momo grinned.

"Oh~ Does that mean, anything~" Momo grinned as Sana burrowed her brows.

"No. Bad Momo. Don't listen to her (YN), Momo's being silly as al-oh Mina!" Momo turned in the same direction as Sana and spotted Mina approaching them.

"I'm so sorry, my instructor wanted me-...(YN)?" Mina excused herself while coming closer.

"Yeah?" You called back as Mina stepped closer to you.

"Heh, wow, yeah you, you look good." Mina gave her opinion but it wasn't as high volume as the other two were.

"Do I really?"

"Very~" Momo grinned as Sana shook her head and you chuckled awkwardly in response.

"And we're thinking about giving his hair some style, would complete the look," Sana suggested while tugging a few strands of your hair.

"And new shoes too." Momo pointed at your feet as Mina nodded.

"Yeah, I think that's a nice idea. Anyway, sorry about stepping out for a bit, it was my instructor." Mina explained.

"What did she want?" Sana asked.

"I guess my break got shorter. She wants me to come in next Saturday and Sunday."

"The whole weekend?" Sana's shoulders fell.

"Yeah, but a few hours in the morning. She wants me to be a part of meetings for the upcoming performances."

"Can't she e-mail you?" Momo spoke up as Mina shrugged.

"The struggles of being the best I suppose," Sana sighed as Mina smiled at her.

"Cheer up you two, not like we had any plans for next weekend."

"We could have," Momo cut in as Mina shook her head while smiling, "oh well, guess it can't be helped."

"Nope, anyway," she turned to you, "you do look good (YN). This suits you very much," and then Mina spotted something...

"But your hoodie isn't over your overcoat," you were halfway on reaching your arms u- "I got you," Mina said as you stopped and felt your hoodie being fixed, "your hoodie must always be over whatever you're wearing," Mina explained.

You figured Mina was behind you or at the side, but from the direction of her voice, she was right in front of you.

Your faces were half a foot from one another as your arms circled around your neck adjusting your clothing, feeling her forearms patting your shoulders

Both Sana and Momo were watching her adjust, and when it should have been a quick pull of the clothing, she seemed to be taking her time.

The best part about it-

-was the smile that the two others saw on Mina and of course, thoughts ran through their mind about it and the constant teasing that they were about to unleash on her when the three would be alone.

'Oh, Mina~' Momo grinned as Sana...

'Interesting Mina, very interesting,'

What you were thinking was far from theirs with Mina was in close proximity

What did Myoui Mina look like?

You knew her long hair and slender frame and pretty (from Sana), but no other physical traits came to mind.

And as much as you wanted to picture what Mina looked like...

That's what you could imagine.

That's it.

It wasn't a dire need to know, but the more with these three, the more the question lingered.

'It wouldn't be weird to ask them what they looked like right?'

"There, now good went to great," Mina whispered and you could smell her minty breath of her as her arms held over your shoulder, holding onto the helm of your hoodie just for a few seconds longer than what it should have been before lowering her hands.

And it was that that point that Mina caught the other two staring at her and now that she was mirroring them, Sana winked at Mina as Momo rose her brows in teasing manner as Mina's eyes flashed and looked down; embarrassment evolving very quickly as she covered a part of her face with one hand as if it would accomplish something.

"So how do you feel (YN)?" Sana furthered as you moved around a bit, lifting your legs up to feel the pants fit and shifting your shoulders for the top half.

"It feels great, I feel different...is that silly to think?"

"Not at all (YN)," Sana stepped around while observing, "no offense to your mother, but it's a much more improvement than what you came in with." The girl's opinions boosted your confidence majorly.

"Alright, then I'll take this then." You were excited to get a new set into your wardrobe, even though you have no idea what your initial wardrobe even looked like.

"Great, then we have two more outfits for you." Sana spoke as you nodded.

---------------------------------------------------

TIMESKIP

"Well I'm stuffed..." Momo rubbed her tummy after finishing her burger combo.

"When you order the extra large, yeah we would imagine." Sana poked Momo's tummy as Momo swiped her hand away, "you should have eaten the pizza alone, but nooooo, you needed to get another combo as well, wasn't the pizza enough?"

"I'll make it up with my dancing..." Momo leaned back in her chair as Mina shook her head and saw you finishing up the last bite of the crust of your pizza combo too.

"How was it (YN)?" Mina asked as you nodded.

"I enjoyed it, you?"

Mina looked down at the teriyaki bowl she ordered that was wiped clean, along with Sana's.

"Very good as well," Mina looked at Sana as she and Momo were poking one another with both hands.

'These two...'

Mina looked around at the tables being filled with teens and families and couples.

It's been three hours since they arrived and they've been around eight department stores. More so for you, some for Sana and Momo; Mina didn't really see anything she wanted but ended up buying a lavender sweater.

"Well I think it's a great time to get these back in the car so that we don't have to carry much around." Mina suggested as you three nodded.

With cleaning up and bags being carried, the four backtracked towards the entrance of where they came.

...

...

That is until...

"Oh oh oh wait! Look!" Momo pointed forward, "we have to get some!"

"How do you still have the stomach for that I'll never know Momo," Sana folded her arms as Momo shoulder-bumped her.

"It's dessert Sana, it's a law to not skip it." Momo retorted as Sana snorted.

"Dessert?" You asked.

"It's an ice cream stall, instead of round balls of ice cream, they roll it up," Momo explained as you hummed, "I'm getting a cup, no one is going to stop me."

"I'm getting one too," you spoke up with the three eyeing you, "Momo's right, it's ice cream, I ain't gonna say no to that either even if full." You butted in as Momo pointed at you.

"Thank you (YN)! At least someone agrees with me," she looked towards Sana as Sana sighed with Mina smiling and laughing inside.

"I guess I could get a cup, small though," Sana agreed as Mina nodded as well.

"Alright let's go then, luckily there's no line. Then, we'll put our bags away." Momo suggested as the group followed her toward the stall.

Upon coming closer, the cashier noticed and smiled at the newly arrived customers.

"Hello, just let me know if you're ready to order." She said to the group.

"I know what I'm getting." Momo already started, "I'd like a small cup of vanilla with sprinkles and oreo bits." Sana ordered first.

"I'll take medium strawberry please with whipped cream and fudge on top." Mina went and Momo leaned forward.

"I'll have a medium with chocolate and vanilla," Momo pointed two fingers up, "with extra chocolate syrup and cookie bits please."

"Course...alright anything else?" She asked as Mina turned to you.

"You got a flavor (YN)?" Your guide asked as the cashier was ready to input.

"Do you have (favorite flavor)?" You asked the worker as the worker nodded.

"Yes they do," Mina answered as the cashier caught that.

(Unless your companions said your flavor, then...)

"I'll take (Chocolate/Vanilla/Strawberry) as well."

"Small, medium, or large?" The cashier asked.

"Uh, how big are the cups?" You asked back.

"Four rolls in a small, six in medium, and eight in large." She answered as you didn't know exactly how big the rolls were.

"How big are the rolls Mina?" You asked.

"They vary with the size of the cups. Can he hold onto a couple to get an estimate?" Mina asked as the lady arched a brow but took a small and medium-sized cup from the side of her and showcased them.

"This is small and medium." She explained.

"I'm sorry, but can he 'feel' them?" Mina emphasized again as the cashier gave her a strange look.

"Why does-"

Soon as both Mina and Sana pointed at your eyes, it didn't take long for her answer.

"Oh, here," she handed Sana the cups, "I'm sorry," she apologized as you wondered why she did, but quickly figured that your friends signaled your sight.

"It's fine," you said.

"Here, this is the small," Sana took your other hand and placed the small cup and watched you squeeze to get a measurement.

It was a palm-sized fit and while you did eat, it probably wasn't enough to fill that dessert craving, though large might be too much if you didn't like it.

"That's small?"

"Yup. Here's medium." Sana replaced the size and you felt another cup in hand, course it was bigger as it reached more toward your wrist and fingers.

"I'll take a medium," you answered, "chocolate syrup as well please," the lady nodded and entered the order and Sana returned the cups as the lady took the medium and threw the small into the recycle.

"And we have gummy bears, whipped cream, cherries, strawberries, sprinkles, cookie bits, and nuts as toppings as well." She furthered as you appreciated her explanation.

"Just the syrup will be enough thank you," you finalized the order as she inputted the last order.

"Anything else?" All four of you shook your heads, "right, now it'll be fifteen minutes to get your orders out. Would you like them all together, or one at a time?" She asked as you were quizzical.

"We'll get them at a time, and we're paying separately too," Mina answered as the lady nodded.

'That's long for ice cream ain't it?' You didn't want to say it out loud for rudeness as you felt your hand being pulled away.

"Over here (YN), we're going to wait on the side of the stall." You followed Mina's words-

CLAP

-and awakened at the sudden noise.

"Now for the best part," Momo started to shift her hands together.

"Eating it?" You figured Momo liked ice cream, but she seemed to like them a lot more than usual.

"They make your order in front of you," Momo explained to you being quite amazed.

"Make? Like literally?"

"Yup, they mix and mash cream and certain items to whatever you ordered in front of you. Momo's always excited to...be here when they make them," Sana adjusted her wording.

"That's unique," you said afterward, "in front of us?" 

"Yup, the clerk hands the order to another couple of workers who makes them in front of us behind a panel," Mina explained while watching that interaction happening in front of her eyes with the cashier handing a label to another female and male worker, "it's pretty popular, though guess we got lucky and got a no line, they're about to start," Mina watched the ice-makers nod while reading the paper and gather ingredients on the left from a fridge.

"Guess they're starting with Mina's and mine," Sana pointed as the girl maker had a cup of strawberries and a guy with vanilla bars.

"Ready to listen (YN)?" Mina questioned as you nodded, "Okay, first there's a metal pan with two spatulas on it, first-"

CLANK

CLANK

CLANK

"-she cuts the leaves of the strawberries and tosses them away, leaving only the fruit," you nodded, "now she's pouring cream over the berries and-"

CLANKCLANKCLANK

CLANKCLANKCLANK

CLANKCLANKCLANK

"What the..."

"She's chopping them with the two spatulas," Mina explained while hearing multiple taps on the metal pan.

SCREECH...SCREECH

"Now she's scooping them in the middle and..."

CLANKCLANKCLANK

CLANKCLANKCLANK

CLANKCLANKCLANK

SCREECH...SCREECH

"She's doing the same thing on repeat and it's starting to harden to look like ice cream. It's pink cream now because of the strawberries," you nodded as Mina kept watching.

You heard the scrapes and pounds of metal still.

"She's rolling it up into a ball while chopping," Mina added, "now it's looking like pink paste...and she's flattening the cream out and spreading it out on the mat into a rectangle while smoothing it down."

SLIIINNNG

SLIIINNNG

"She's cutting sections of it and rolling it into rolls," Mina said as she watched the lady roll six strawberry ice cream rolls, "now she has a cup and gathers the rolls into it vertically like columns in a circle and leaving the middle free."

The lady reached to her right after finishing up the positions and...

SHHHHHH

"Oh that's whip cream right?" you guess from the sound.

"Exactly, she's pouring it in the middle of the rolls.

"I know that sound anywhere," you said as Mina hummed and Momo nodded.

"I'm with you there (YN)," Momo joined in while the maker placed a lone strawberry on the cream, "oh and the fudge~ oh and plenty of it~" Momo watched the drizzle of chocolate fudge on the rolls, berry and whipped cream.

"That's the best part," you said as you felt something heavy over your shoulder.

"Oh I'm liking you more and more (YN)~" Momo grinned as Mina looked at her while leaning forward.

Momo caught her eyes and winked while unheeding you and dropping her arm while you stood still.

"Right, uh, now the lady is placing a spoon in the cup and that's it,"

AN: Below is the actual video

The lady arrived and placed the strawberry ice cream rolls near the register as well as the male with Momo's still in the making.

"It'll be around eight minutes for your two other orders," she stated.

"Looks like (YN) and my order now," Momo spoke up, "Mina, can I explain my order to (YN)?"

Mina nodded as Momo took your side with Sana scooting over.

Even though it would be literally the same, you didn't want to say no to Momo.

"Okay so first she..."

---------------------------

LONG TIMESKIP - Sorry for skipping the other

"And here we are," Mina parked the car in front of your home and unbuckled her seat belt, "I'll escort you (YN)," as she opened the door with you unlocking your belt as well.

"Alright," you then turned slightly to the right, "Momo, Sana, thanks for the day, it's been a blast."

"Same," "Course (YN), don't forget to ask about tomorrow." Sana reminded you as you nodded.

"I'll text you when I get an answer." She nodded as the door next to you-

SLIDE

-was opened and you felt the cold breeze of the night.

Yes, night.

You four were out for three-twenty-four to nine-forty-five.

From shopping at various clothing departments and a majority of all random departments like a candle, perfume, lego, arcade (even though it was impossible for you to actually play any of the machines, but you tried), etc.

And each one was a pleasure to be around.

After that, you all headed to a restaurant for dinner and enjoyed a(n) (Food Theme) meal and discussed what they can do tomorrow. 

Which was a trip to a lake.

Nevertheless, you were wanting to go so a quick ask was needed.

Plus it was the weekend, not like you're not doing anything else.

"You got your belt off?" Mina asked as you nodded and rose a hand up for Mina to hold it.

"You need help with the bags Mina?" Sana asked.

"No thanks, besides, I need to talk to (YN) for a bit," Mina said back as Momo rose a brow and Sana tilted her head as Mina turned to you, "you don't mind (YN) do you?"

"Not at all,"

"Thanks, I'll tell you two in a bit okay, be right back," Mina said towards the girls as she moved you aside.

"Alright, goodbye (YN)~" "Byeee!" Both Momo and Sana sounded as you waved behind you and-

SHUT

-the door was closed slowly and Momo and Sana turned towards one another while Sana twisted in her chair.

"Talk?" Momo looked behind her to see you and her opening the trunk, "bout what?" Sana looked back as well but turned towards Momo who was looking at her now but saw the trunk is opened.

"Most likely what happened this morning." 

"Will she tell his parents?" Momo asked as Sana shook her head.

"No, I think she really wants to make sure he's alright knowing her."

SHUT

The trunk was closed as the two waited a few seconds and saw the duo walking towards your door.

"...is he going to be okay?" Momo had a hushed tone as Sana sighed mentally as Momo looked at her.

"With Reo?" Sana assumed.

"Yeah." 

"He will be Momo, we'll make sure of it."  Momo nodded, "for now I'm glad that he enjoyed today, I'm happy we're able to give him this."

Momo nodded.

"Me too, especially Mina," Momo pointed towards the home and Sana turned to see you both gone, figuring the two were inside your place.

Your place...

"..."

"..."

"...to think he was here for more than a decade," Sana spoke up while giving a sad look towards your home, "I understand the circumstances, I do," she swayed her eyes to Momo, "but it's understandable why he wanted to be out too," Sana muttered as Momo knew the reasons why as well.

"Well, at least things are changing for him." Momo countered as Sana nodded, "I'm gonna try to spend as much time as I can with him." Momo nodded her promise in her mind as Sana smiled at her.

"You and him alone? He'd probably die of embarrassment." 

"Scoff oh please, what would I do to embarrass him?" Momo questioned while leaning back in her seat as Sana rose a brow.

"The whispering in his ear? The sudden tight hugs? Or maybe asking him to do THAT in the changing room?" Sana pointed at her as Momo leaned forward, arms crossed.

"My my Sana~ are you jealous?~"

Sana hung her head and sighed.

"Why do I bother..."

"Cause you're my best friend~"

Sana giggled while giving a cheeky smile.

"That you are Momo, and you're right, I'll spend a lot of time with him. I'm sure Mina is in agreement too." Momo smiled at her friend as Sana mirrored the emotion.

---------------------------------------------------

MEANWHILE

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Coming...SQUEAK...(YN), Mina," your dad opened the door fully, "how'd it go?"

"It was incredible dad! We did a whole bunch of stuff," you shook your bought bags, "the three were amazing to be with." You declared gazing forward as Mina smiled at your assessment.

She spotted your dad's shoulders lowered as well, as if weight was dropped off.

"Good, no that's great to hear, I'm glad you had fun," you nodded and your father turned to Mina, "thank you, Mina, we really appreciate it."

"You're very welcome Mr. (LN), (YN) is pleasant to be with." Mina turned towards your side and smiled, "if you don't Mr. (LN), may I chat with (YN) for a few minutes while putting his items away?"

He shook his head, though having someone over with you was a new concept.

"Not at all," he sidestepped his way, "come in, here let me get-"

"I got it dad, don't worry, but thank you. Where's mom?" You assessed while stepping forward.

"Napping, I was waiting for you here." He answered.

"Alright, I'll tell you all about it dad in a bit okay," he nodded while pulling Mina, "I'll lead you to my room Mina."

"Su-...lead?"

"Yup." You spoke with earnestly while moving forward and pulling Mina's hand, "come on," you stopped when Mina didn't budge.

"He knows his way around, we'll talk after." Your dad stated as Mina looked at him and then at you.

"Alright..."

Mina took a few steps forward and you continued forward as you guided her...yeah, Mina had to double take her position being the one PULLED by you.

Following a few steps, Mina observed your living room and surrounding walls.

Nothing too fancy, but it wasn't low either.

A perfect cozy setting.

"It's to the right here," you said as Mina spotted a hall going right.

She was going to tell you to be careful, but instead, you turned with ease as Mina slowed herself to comprehend that you just turned on your own, but sped up to catch your pace down the hall.

"Wow, you turned like nothing,"

"Living here for years, I memorize the layout, my room is the far right door." You nudged your head as Mina was dazzled at your navigation, even if it was one turn, but she really was amazed when you turned in place and reached feeling around, feeling the door frame, but not stopping before heading inside the open doorway.

"And here we are. Room sweet room."

You turned in spot, looking nowhere near Mina as she toured your room with her eyes.

It was simplistic as a room can be.

Plain.

Unlike hers, Momo's, or Sana's; no pictures, no posters hanging, no figurines or miscellaneous items around, no stuffed figures or any collectibles that she can see.

Imagine checking into a hotel room with the bare necessities.

'Guess what he said was true. Still, it's pretty sad not having any decor...' Mina shook those thoughts out and turned her attention to you who was standing still, staring forward.

"It's nice." You nodded and pointed at your bed.

"We can leave the bags there and-"

SQUEAK-SHUT

-you heard the door, while barely audible, close behind, but you still felt Mina's hand in yours.

"Mina?" 

"I'd rather talk in private," Mina spoke up as you assumed what she wanted to talk about when she asked you to come towards the front door of your place, but now you were certain.

"Okay, let's sit on the bed." You gestured and turned towards it and walked a few steps along with Mina as you two sat in comfort after placing the bags down.

You decided to take initiative.

"If it's about Reo-"

"It is." Mina effectively went in, "I'm not going to lecture you or him, I just want to know something." You nodded, "This morning with him, it's not that he just teased you, it's that he did so about your sight. I know you don't want to take it further than it has to and we'll stand by that," you nodded in appreciation, "but I need to know that you're okay with what he said. It was harsh (YN)," she whispered as you shrugged.

"I mean yeah, it was offensive, and I appreciate you checking, but it didn't bother me a bit, Mina." Mina stared for a few seconds as you didn't move expressions, "I've told you and the other two that this," you waved a hand in front of your eyes, "is who I am. Mom even said to be prepared in case of someone like that is in school, of course, I won't tell her or especially dad, but all that emotion about me being blind is long gone and done. He can make fun of me all he wants, it's not gonna affect me."

Mina released a soft sigh.

'I can't tell if he's that mature, or he's really well in hiding it. Either way...'

"He shouldn't in the first place." Mina cut in, "...are you sure you don't want to tell the teacher?"

You shook your head in response.

"No, because I'm certain Mina if we do, my dad is gonna hear it, and knowing him he'll do everything to-" 

"Pull you out." Mina finished as you nodded.

"He wasn't on board with this originally since he wanted to keep me near him and mom. I don't want him to freak out and keep me here again." You muttered as Mina offered a frown, "I get that it's for my safety and I don't blame him, but this short time in school and with you, Sana, and Momo has been what I wanted for a while. And If he feels that even school is bad, he's not gonna let me out anywhere." 

Mina understood you, be it she couldn't understand completely, she knew well enough that was enough reason.

'I understand him completely and I don't want to go against him, but I don't want to sit back either...'

"...well, even 'if' that does happen (YN), I assure you that we'll do our best to convince your dad not to get that far," that brought a bit of confidence in you, "but we certainly don't want to get to that. So if you're really okay, then we'll keep it to ourselves, but if Reo gets too out of hand (YN), we'll-" 

"Then we could tell." You agreed right away Mina was relieved to hear that you weren't swaying away from that, "sorry for this Mina, I know you three want to help-"

"It's okay (YN), I get your reasoning, honestly I'd be asking the same," Mina intruded back, she'd be fighting to get out as well in your predicament, "alright, that's all I wanted to know (YN). Thank you," you nodded.

"Thank you as well Mina, I mean it." 

Mina hummed in acknowledgment, "hey, before we go, can you do something?" You asked.

"Course."

"Can you lay out an outfit on the bed for me to wear tomorrow?" You pointed towards your left, "just in case we leave."

"Hehe, yeah, let's see what you can wear," Mina stood up and started to rummage through the bags...though she did stop and took a look at you gazing in at her direction, though not at her.

She didn't know what to feel about all this, but one thing was certain is that she'll do whatever to keep you in safe hands.

For now, it's doing your simple request.

"Well, if we are going, you'll pack light so..."

--------------------------------------------

After a couple of minutes of placing your outfit on the bed, you walked out on your own, Mina still baffled by this, with her walking close just in case and into the living room.

There Mina spotted your dad on a lone chair as his head turned towards her from his phone, as well as your mother on the main couch, both turning towards her and now standing up.

"Hey, done chatting?" He asked as you both nodded.

"Hi sweetie," she spoke up as you waved, "sorry I was taking a nap."

"Hey mom, it's fine. And yeah dad, Mina wanted to talk about things about today and future plans while helping me with what we bought," you informed your parents as Mina didn't even think to come up with something if either asked.

"That's nice to hear, you know you can stay longer if you want Mina, your friends as well. We can make a quick dinner too if you're hungry." Your mother added as Mina waved her hand.

"Thank you Ms. (LN), but our parents are wanting us back home. I appreciate the offer though," she nodded at her.

"Of course, it's the least we can do. You've been a major help to us. All three of you," she stated and Mina shook her head.

Though the Reo incident popped into her mind, Mina forgoed it.

"No thanks needed, we're happy to be with him," she turned to you, "he's fun and nice to be around, my friends think the same." 

"Mina..."

You muttered in embarrassment as Mina smiled at you with your folks were delighted to hear. 

"And just to let you know, your father and I talked and since you were talking about future plans, (YN) can tag along as well, if he wants that is." 

Both Mina and you were glad she said that since that'll make tomorrow's plan guarantee, but more importantly...

"You too dad?" You asked as he nodded.

"Yeah," he joined the conversation as Mina nodded and you smiled, "before you head off Mina and to you too (YN), I need to apologize for the negativity when you asked us about your plans, it's all new to me with you going out and-"

"It's understandable why you were Mr. (LN)," Mina intruded, "any parent would be looking out for their child," Mina added the last part, not having a talk with your parents alone, she'd figured to give her sympathy, "but I, Sana and Momo promise you that he'll alright with us,"

"Yeah dad, it's fine, you don't have to feel sorry." You joined as your dad, once again, shoulders dropped and Mina saw him looking to the ground, smiling and then looking up.

"Thank you," he returned as Mina couldn't imagine how much guilt and woe your dad must have, "and she's right about you staying Mina, if you need anything, we're here and you're welcome anytime, that goes to your friends too," Mina nodded in appreciation as your dad walked towards the door, "I'll get the door for you,"  as Mina turned to you,

"Guess I'm off (YN),"

"Alright, drive safe Mina." 

"Thanks, I'll call you and let you know when we're heading here okay?" You nodded as Mina started to backstep towards the door as you stood there, your head in her direction, "have a good night (YN),"

"You too Mina," 

"And to you as well Ms. (LN)."

"Same to you Mina."

With one last look, Mina turned 180 and headed towards the opened entrance where your dad was ready to close the door behind her.

Upon stepping out, the door closed behind and Mina waved at Sana and Momo, both waving toward her as well.

"Good night Mr. (LN)."

"Night," He nodded as Mina stepped out, walked a few steps and-

SHUT

-the door was closed behind as Mina walked her way to her vehicle.

..

..

CLICK

"Hey," Mina spoke as she stepped into the driver's seat.

"You good?" Sana asked as Mina buckled up.

"Yeah, I asked (YN) a question about Reo." Mina straight up said while turning to Sana and then Momo, "if he was okay. He said he was. That's all."

"We figured," Momo said back.

"I asked him during History as well. You know you could have asked him here Mina." Sana returned as Mina shrugged.

"I know, I'm sorry I didn't tell, but, being there and seeing what Reo was doing, mocking his blindness as a joke," Mina gave a cold stare while defending her reasoning, "even though he pressed back, words can hurt just as much as anything physical," Mina muttered and looked at the steering wheel as the two nodded slowly, "(YN) is strong though, he didn't care, he still didn't, but I just wanted to make sure."

GRASP

Mina felt her shoulder being pressured as she spotted Sana's hand and followed the limb to her gentle smile.

"It'll be fine Mina, don't worry,"

"Yeah, we got his back," Momo said from behind as Mina turned to the two once and smiled at the close bond of her two girlfriends.

"Thanks, girls,"

"Yup~" "No prob Mina~ now can you drop me off first cause I want to sleep." Momo ruined the moment as Sana rose her brows and Mina giggled just slightly.

She then started the car and proceeded to tell them what you said to her as well as your navigation skills.

--------------------------------------------------------

MEANWHILE

"So? How'd it go (YN)?" Your mother asked as you felt the couch, walked around, and sat down.

"Everything was amazing. It was a crazy, entertaining, and enjoyalbe day." You leaned back on the couch as your parents smiled, "thank you for allowing me to go you two."

"Of course sweetheart, we're glad you had fun," you nodded.

"..."

"..."

It was mute afterwards as your smile faltered and left confused.

"Guys?"

"...sweetie, your father and I would like to talk to you." Your mom spoke with the sudden question.

"Everything okay?" You asked as your mother sat near you and father still standing.

"Yes, everything is fine. Seeing you the past week, going out today and to school, we just wanted to let you know that before all this, having you here since 'then' was for your safety and well-being."

"I know that mom...did you think I didn't see it that way?" You countered-asked as your dad stepped in.

"Of course we did. We're not saying that it's bad or anything, but we also know that living in a bubble isn't exactly how most kids or teens would like their lifestyle to be. And since you've asked us about attending school, wanting to go out and be with others. We've talked afterward and today as well and we don't blame you if you've been wanting this for a while now and held something against us." 

You leaned forward.

"Well it's for a long while, but I promise you that I didn't think of anything ill about this. I mean, sure it can get boring, but it's not torture or anything. Me wanting to be out had nothing to do with you two. I wanted to experience what it would be like to be normal," your expression changed to panic, "wait that came out wrong, I-I didn't mean to say-"

"Don't worry, we get it (YN), there's nothing wrong about wanting to feel that way." Your dad assured with your mom nodding, "we want you to be happy (YN), happy and safe and we, well, I wanted to tell you that me having a hard time with all this isn't because I don't want you to want what you want, but because of me being worried about you."

"I know dad and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you and mom for everything you've done, especially for letting me be at school. And I am happy, with you two, being at school and having already amazing friends and experiences. This is what wished for and it couldn't be any better nor could I have asked for such amazing parents. Nothing in my life would have been without your strife and nothing I say or do could truly convey my appreciation and gratitude for you two. And dad, this goes double for you; you have been there day after day since to make sure my life turned out great this way with you showing me new ways to get around and entertained here and you still are with positivity and passion and no matter how bad things were, you were always there to help. Thank you, dad, really."

Your mom covered her mouth and smiled at your words and turned to your father; as expected, he was on the brink of crying.

Your dad had his eyes flutter and she could see the brimmed tears forming underneath as his lips were worming with a flatline.

Obviously, he was refusing to cry, but your mother couldn't let him refuse that.

"I think your dad needs a hug (YN)," 

You chuckled and stood up as your dad couldn't refuse that notion and gently hugged you into his body.

"I-I love you (YN)...t-thank you..."

"Love you too dad, love you too." You held him back, feeling the shakes from him as your mother joined the family hug of three.

=====================================

TIMESKIP 

THE NEXT MORNING

...

...

...

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

The sound of a dog filled a tidied bedroom of soft purple walls, and dark carpeting with multiple collectibles around the room and desk as a lone person groaned at the canine's piercing calls.

The dog then hopped onto the bed with the person as the individual felt the four-legged friend's action and sighed while opening their eyes and feeling the sniffles around their head.

They rose a hand up and petted their dog as they sat up with a fatigued look.

"Good morning Ray..." Mina yawned smiling tiredly at her dog aka alarm clock.

Ray returned a few licks to a tired Mina, as she sat up on her bed, stretching, while Ray reclaimed his sleeping spot on her pillow and out of the sleeping girl's hair. 

She chuckled at the sleeping dog and shook her head at how lazy he can be. 

Ruffling his hair, Mina gave a quick glance at her charging phone and saw the time.

8:12 AM 

"Well, guess it's time to wake up anyway," looking away to rub the sleep from her eyes, Mina turned to Ray who was lying down in a circle formation already, "alright, time to get up," she reasoned, as a smile quickly forming on her face. 

She jumped out of bed scaring Ray awake again and walked out into the hall and towards the bathroom to freshen up.

"Morning Mina." Mina perked her head at her mom's voice coming out of her room from behind as Mina turned towards her.

"Morning mom," 

"Heading to the kitchen?" Mina shook her head, "well your dad is making quick eggs and bacon,"

"Alright," her mother nodded and walked past her as Mina made her way into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

-----------------

It wasn't long before Mina freshened up and headed into the kitchen to spot her mom sitting down on her phone and dad in front of the stove taking care of two pans with his signature apron on.

"Morning," she welcomed herself as her parents looked towards her.

"Morning Mina," "Hi sweetie, had a good sleep?" they welcomed as Mina nodded, "good, I got a plate coming for you soon," Mina nodded and sat down, "you want a drink? Coffee?" He asked while she waved her hand.

"Juice," she answered as her dad went to get that.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Ray joined the group as the three heard and dad saw his tray.

"I'll give him his breakfast too." He said while resuming his action.

"So how was yesterday?" Her mother asked since she was at work and came home late, though her dad was there to hear about it.

"It went very well, Momo course wanted to buy an entire closet again and Sana could start a fragrance store with what she owns now." Mina joked as her mom smiled, "and (YN) really enjoyed himself. We were glad to see him so happy enjoying his time, even if he couldn't-...well that didn't stop him from being ecstatic, no matter what it was, he gave his whole energy into it. You should have seen him, mom," 

Upon hearing this, her mother frowned.

"You said it was his first time going out?" Mina nodded, "how happy he must have been. It's pretty sad to think that after all this time he was cooped in his home." 

"Well it's understandable (Mina's Mom's Name)," her husband spoke up while delivering the cup of juice to Mina, "if Mina was in that position, we'd do the same." Mina grabbed the cup after a thank you.

"True, but I don't think I could have Mina stay for twenty-four seven, something about it just doesn't feel right," her husband shrugged, "no offense sweetie," Mina shrugged as well while taking a sip.

"Maybe, but it's for the best. Moving along, how's he adjusting to school?" Her father questioned while getting a bag of kibble from under the sink and pouring the contents into his food bowl of Ray as he started to eat up.

"Very well, if he didn't tell me, I'd say he's been in school before. For someone whose first week of it, he's not fazed by the sudden atmosphere. Of course, he asks us about notes and what the teacher write, but he's catching on quickly, his mom was a very good teacher it seems." Mina sipped another time as her dad nodded.

"To lose a feeling at a young age," her mother started, "I can't even begin to imagine the change in his life," her mother looked off into the distance, "to suddenly just stop seeing..." her mom seemed to be into the thought now till she turned to Mina, "...well I'm glad he's doing well,"

"Me too," her dad spoke up, "it may be wrong to say, but if anything it shows that he's adaptable, tough, and brave to go through all that and to persevere and keep going," Mr. Myoui spoke up as Mina agreed a hundred percent, "and we're happy that you're helping in that Mina." 

Mina nodded at him.

"Me too dad...do you two think that maybe he can come over sometime? You two should meet him?" Mina asked as both parents smiled at the suggestion.

"Of course, we'd be happy to." Her mom said back, "...but..." her mother started as Mina's smile went down as a 'but' is always a negative, "now I'm not saying it's wrong, we both want what's best for him, and with you helping him, we know he does have that," her mom said as her dad turned his head, "what I want to say is, and it please don't take it wrong sweetie; don't let the responsibility of helping him take over 'your' necessities of the school and your ballet." Mina rose a brow and an expression of a 'what' face, "I know you have a flawless (grade system) and are remarkable in your dances, but it's almost your last year of high school Mina. I know it's two years away till you graduate, but the time when grades, studies, career, and your life starts to take shape. We want what's best for you as well." Her mother laid her hands on the table as both studied Mina's expression.

Mina can't be mad at her parents for that explanation.

However, they don't realize the extent of how or who you were by not being or talking with you like herself.  

Plus it wasn't like it was anything too demanding and since it was your first week, you had to adjust to it as well, but you were fairing very well Mina had to say.

At least they aren't saying that she shouldn't help you, just to take care of herself too.

Maybe they could have worded it right better to begin with but Mina didn't want to upset them and she was glad that they understood the situation and embraced her role.

So with a nod...

"I understand," both parents were grateful that she didn't overreact, "but helping (YN) isn't going to overtake anything. It's only for school and when we go out. I assure you that I will step up my studies and work but I want to help (YN) in what I can as well." Mina put her words forward with a more serious tone as her mother smiled and dad nodded.

"And that's fine. As we said-" Her mom started but dad came over with a plate and presented it to his wife, "thank you, dear," she picked up her fork and started to pick up her eggs, "as we said, we do feel for him and we're glad that you and your friends are helping him out. And if he wants to come over, poke he can," She finished and started to eat her eggs as well, "Hmm~ this is good, thank you," she said covering her mouth as her dad gave thumps up, "I would love to meet him,"

While what she said kind of dropped Mina's morale a bit, she nodded.

"Thank you, mom. I'm sure (YN) will love to hear that. You too dad," Mina capped it off as her mom and dad nodded back.

"Course," he said while returning to the pan, "your usual Mina?" He asked as she nodded.

"Yes and if you can help me afterward pack for the trip?"

"I sure can." He answered.

"Trip?" Her mother questioned as Mina neglected to inform her.

"Ah, we had this planned yesterday. We're going on a picnic to Suma Beach, (AN: it's near Nishinomiya where Mina resided) sorry, I know it's sudden."

"That's fine, it's what half hour away?" Mina nodded, "I'm assuming with your friends and (YN)?" Mina nodded once more, "wear lots of sunscreens," her mom advised.

"Of course, both Momo and Sana are arriving at ten or something then we pick up (YN)...oh right, my instructor called, and said that I'm to start training this weekend."

"Really? You excited?" Mina nodded.

"Course, can't wait to see my group again. I'll be weird now that a handful left and new ones in." 

"Well with you there, I'm sure you'll put them in shape." Her mom joked as Mina hummed.

"I'm sure my instructor going to put me in that too. Anyway, how's was work mom?" Mina asked as her mom started to tell her about her night at work.

-------------------------

TIMESKIP 

TWO HOURS

"Alright, Ray. You've gotta me help out. What about this one?" She asked throwing a pink shirt and white shorts on the bed. 

Ray looked and didn't give a reaction at Mina as she gave the outfit a good look and agreed with her dog, "Hmm you're right. How about this one?"

This went on for about ten minutes till she found an outfit they were both satisfied with, well Mina, Ray didn't really give any response.

"Well? What do ya think Ray?" She smiled showing off her new outfit over her.

Sporting a white no-sleeve top with a graphic in the center with her jean shorts and dark leggings and finished off with a pair of vans. 

Ray kept his gaze as Mina nodded.

"I agree," as she looked at her outfit in the mirror, "hmm, well maybe-"

RINGTONE RINGTONE

Mina heard her phone ring out and figured Sana was already at her door.

So she fast-walked towards the door...

"Coming!" She smiled and opened the door, "hey," Mina smiled seeing her friends striking a pose.

"Hello, Mina~" "Mina~" Both girls adjusted their sunglasses while Sana stroked a pose.

Momo wore a red and white striped long-sleeve over jeans shorts that reached to her thigh with white sandals while Sana had the same idea for the lower half except for a white and aqua striped top.

"You two look ready," Mina eyed her friend's fashion as they nodded.

"Indeed we are~" Sana let her hand down, "you look cute too Mina."

"These are my PJs..." Mina pointed at her shirt.

"Still cute~" Sana winked as Mina rolled her eyes.

"Well come in, I'm gonna get ready, and then we can head out." Both Momo and Sana joined her inside as she closed the door behind.

"I'm excited for today," Sana spoke up while the three headed to Mina's room.

"So am I." Momo joined, "it's been a while since we been there." 

"It sure has, and the weather is perfect today too." Mina pointed out as the two nodded.

"Woof!"

"Hey Ray~" Entering the room, they spotted the dog on Mina's bed as Sana added her baby voice and patted his head, "whose a good dog~"

"He was helping me pick an outfit, though I can't really make a decision." Mina eyed her laid out clothes as Momo came closer to the fabrics.

"Well good thing you got us here." She was already shuffling through the items.

"I think I'm more excited for (YN) if I'm being honest," Sana spoke up while sitting next to Ray as the other two girls turned, "he's getting to explore more of the outside world."

"I agree," Mina agreed with Momo nodding, "I can't think of the level of excitement and maybe nervousness from him."

"Must be high," Momo joined in while deciding between two shirts, "though he was 'relaxed' at the mall yesterday,"

"Probably didn't want to be too excited in front of us,"

"I like excitement," Momo said after Sana's remark.

"Well he is more of a 'taking it in' than an 'explosive' nature like you are Momo," Mina smiled at her friend as Momo chuckled.

"I guess so, he's more like you then," Momo pointed out, "he's even into your ballets Mina. I can tell you that no guy in school would be like that," Momo added as Sana nodded.

"Who would have thought," Mina smiled.

"Anyway, I think I found your outfit," Momo said after as Mina joined her side while Sana played with Ray. 

--------------------------------------------------------

TIMESKIP

41 MINUTES LATER

In the horizon, the vast ocean lay calm under the bright sun. 

Golden sandbanks lay spread around the beach. 

The temperature was hot, the water was clear, and there was hardly any in sight.

It was a perfect day for an outing.

The car ride had been fun with Sana and Momo singing along to songs on the radio. 

You joined in from time to time, singing along to whatever song you heard before and knew the lyrics to as Mina sat with you in the back with Sana driving.

SLAM

Sana stretched her hands up as she shut the car door behind her.

"Wow, we got really lucky, no one is here at all." Sana looked left and right down the beach, ", especially for a Saturday."

"It is the evening, so most likely most families are working or still waiting till the afternoon." Mina came out as she opened the door for you on the other side.

Momo appeared from the front of the car to join Sana.

SLIDE

"I got you (YN)," Mina spoke from behind as you stepped out with her.

Sporting a white graphic short sleeve top that Sana bought for you, athletic shorts and black flip flops, and with your dark glasses on, Mina would say you were prepared for the beach. 

"Thanks," you said as Mina hummed in response.

"And the sun feels just right," Momo felt the heat on her skin, "I really want to build a sandcastle,"

"Oh yes! We'll build the biggest castle!"

"I call the princess." "I call the princess."

Both of them said at once.

"Eh!" "Eh!"

Both chirped at one another.

"I'm more fitting to be a princess Momo, no offense."

"Oh no way, I'm the princess here." Momo pointed at herself.

"Do they always get into a bicker?" You asked Mina.

"You get used to it." Mina shook her head.

"Fine, Mina, (YN), who's the princess here?" Sana and Momo turned to you two as Mina shook her head.

"I'm not getting involved. Help me with the stuff." Mina let her hand go and went to the back of the car.

"Well then (YN), it's up to you," Momo then came forth and held your shoulder as you felt her being soft on the touch, "pick me and I'll give you an IOU, and I'm good for anything you want~"

Your breath hitched.

"Nonono! You can't seduce your way into the role Momo, no princess does that!" Sana came on the other side of you, "that's an automatic disqualification."

"Oh like you weren't going to do the same."

"O-okay enough you two," You spoke up, "just be co-princesses. It's your own castle, can't you just make up all the rules?"

"..."

"..."

Both girls looked at one another...

"He's got a point," Momo shrugged.

"True, I agree, co-princesses," Sana rose her hand as Momo returned it.

You were glad that was settled though Momo could lessen it... 

"Great now can you two "princesses" help me out," Mina huffed as the two looked at her with a backpack in one hand and a bag in the other.

"Sure," "Yup,"

"Anything I can carry?" You asked.

"Yeah, I got a bag and pack here."

"I'll carry the bag." You asked as Mina saw your outstretched hand and proceeded to hand it to you.

You felt the strap and fiddled around to get it over your shoulders.

While waiting for the other two, you opted for a little chat.

"You don't mind if I don't get in the water right?" you replied.

You weren't an avid swimmer and well, being blind didn't help.

"Course not, we'll stand in the waves." Mina answered, "let's start getting on the sand yeah?"

"Yeah, it's hot I'm assuming?" 

"Sand always is." 

Obviously, anyone who's been to the beach knows this, but you, of course, haven't been here at all.

You stated that you've been here once with your parents, but before the incident and after, it wasn't a thought to come here at all.

That had the trio think of the extent to which you could be missing out.

Nevertheless, it didn't falter them.

"So let me get your hand," you did what Mina asked as you both reached out and held hands, "and we're going to start stepping on the sand."

"Let's do it,"

"Alright, it's going to be a bit tough to walk on so be prepared." 

"Yup," you replied, some excitement filling your voice, "mind if I take my flips off?"

"I wouldn't recommend that since it's going to be hot."

"Just for a feel?" You furthered as Mina eyed your foot and then the sand.

"Alright, it's not going to be that hot, but just a warning."  

You removed your one flip-flop, moved to the left of it, and slowed a bit before sticking your foot on the rough sand.

You gasped as a warm sensation coursed through the soles of your foot. 

It was a soft feeling as you molded the ground, yet firm the more you pressed and you felt the little grains of sand surround your toes along with tiny rocks.

Problem was that it was hot.

"Wow, that's hot," you said before Mina laughed while you slid your foot back in the flip-flop.

"So, how did that feel, other than hot?" Mina asked.

"Soft yet firm, grainy like salt."

"That's sand for you," Mina replied and turned her head to see Sana and Momo joining the two with Momo and Sana both picking the cooler up and with bags on the other hands.

"We'll need to make another trip for the parasol, we'll get it after we put these down," Sana said as she locked the car...

DING

...and put the keys in her bag.

"Need help Momo or Sana?" You offered.

"We got it (YN), thanks," Momo answered.

"Thanks but we're good," Sana answered as well as you nodded. 

"Right then, where should we go? I guess it doesn't matter." Momo searched the grounds.

"Let's go in the middle of the trees and the water." Sana pointed as the group nodded and you followed.

Mina was right when you were treading on the sand. Your feet dug into the pile as you pulled with more force.

"You're right Mina, sand is tough."

"You good though?"

"Yeah."

You could feel the intense heat yet warm breeze brush up against your skin and heard...

SQUAWK SQUAWK

The high-pitched squawks seemed to invade above you.

"They sound close."

"Seagulls, they can be annoying," Sana looked up to see three of them circling them.

WOOOOOSH...WOOOOOSH

You also heard the sound of the sea as what you assumed were waves crashing onto the shore, as Mina told you before. 

"That the water?" 

"Yeah, it's coming in with some force. It'll be a nice time in there." Momo eyed the waves coming in and out.

Apart from that, it was some kids yelling, but those two previous sounds overtook those as you enjoyed the air, heat, sounds, everything to enjoy...till...

"Okay, let's set up here," you stopped moving as Sana and Momo plumped the cooler down in the sand to ground it, "now let's get the parasol, Momo?," Sana added as Momo nodded, "We'll be back," Sana said as they went back.

"Okay, I'm setting up the towels to lie on. (YN) you can put the bag down."

Soon Mina, who let your hand go, gathered the blankets in her hefty bag while you lowered the pack gently as you felt the ground make contact and stopped.

You stood up straight and adjusted your head.

The beach felt amazing so far. 

Course nothing was done, but in the presence of it, it felt grand.

Mina side-eyed you while flapping the towels.

"Want me to describe the beach?" She asked as you turned into her area.

"Actually, yeah...though, can you do something while doing so," you said as Mina stopped her actions and stood up.

"What is it?"

"Well, it may be difficult, but can you describe the colors to me too?" You asked and Mina blinked at your want.

"...you don't know colors?"

"I know colors since mom taught them, though I wouldn't mind if I got a refresher on them. And with the way you described everything yesterday, I enjoyed it." you smiled as Mina couldn't say no.

However...

Describing colors would be difficult, especially for a person who hardly remembered what they looked like.

Still, she didn't see a reason not to try.

"Well," Mina started, "I'll do my best,"

"Thank you," you said quietly, clearly a bit embarrassed for your lack of knowledge on colors, "And don't worry, you don't have to try to give great detail, just whatever you think you can get."

She hummed and looked outward.

Mina only smiled in return. 

Though she could not see it, you could almost definitely feel her smile.

"Okay, open your palm, I'm going to put a shell."

So with that, you held your hand up, palm side up as Mina dropped a quarter-sized shell.

"Describe the texture," Mina asked of you as your fingers pringled around it like a bug.

"Rough and hard," Mina hummed her approval in response. "That's what grey is like. It's strong and sturdy, like a rock. But at the same time, it's lifeless and cold like when there's a rainstorm, though some people enjoy that."

You nodded.

"Now then-"

"And we're back." Sana's voice was heard.

Mina turned to see her and Momo carrying the parasol together and Sana holding what looked like a sack.

"Need help?" Mina offered.

"You could dig a spot," Sana asked as Mina asked you to hold on as you waited there while she made a decent hole for the parasol to be put in.

Some teamwork later and the parasol was opened up to have a large shaded circular area to lie in.

"Nice job girls." Sana said, enjoying their 'hard' work, "so what's first?" She asked as Mina returned to you.

"Here (YN), get in the shade and we can resume." Mina held your shoulder and you nodded as Mina guided you.

"Resume?" Momo asked as a few steps was needed for you to be under the parasol.

"I'm explaining (YN) the scenary and the colors of them." She told them.

"Colors?" Sana repeated like Momo.

"I asked Mina if she could describe colors for me," You mentioned Momo and Sana turned to you, "and yes I do my colors, I wanted more detail." You assured as they might have the same thought as Mina, "and Mina was explaining what grey was by this starting with this shell," you showed a shell in your hand to them.

Both girls looked at it, then you and finally Mina as your main guide nodded.

"I get it, what color is next?" Sana asked.

"I was going to start with tan or brown of the sand. I would say it's that feeling you get when you sit in your room and just meditate or when you're feeling lazy?" You nodded. "I kinda think that's how I could describe tan. Neutral, a slight warmth and soothing," you nodded at that, "here, you can drop the shell," Mina bent down and grabbed a handful of sand as you dropped the shell, "I'm going to put sand in your hand, don't worry, it's not hot." You nodded and you felt droplets on your palm as they gathered and soon overflowed from your palm, "that's sand or tan."

You nodded.

"I agree with that," Momo snapped out of her thoughts mid-way as Sana nodded, "continue Mina."

"You could join in too." Mina offered.

"I don't think we'd be great as you just described it. You got this." Sana nodded at Mina.

"Alright, let's see," Mina looked around and found her next target, "the sun, it's a mix of red, orange, and yellow," she went on as Momo and Sana caught the sun but didn't stare at it for long, "we're standing in its sunshine and just soaking in the warmth. Though the same feeling, each of the colors is different: orange is vibrant and comforting, red's bold and hot, and yellow's the brightest and most energizing of the three." You nodded, smiling at the thought of the description, "I'm not sure if we have anything that describes that now."

"I could say it's you three," you spoke up as Sana and Mina smiled as Momo giggled, "I'm serious: Momo's red, Sana's yellow, and Mina is orange." You said as the three repeated their actions.

"Hehe, I like that~" Momo pointed at herself.

"You are the very definition of red," Sana agreed, "I'm yellow all the way, and Mina is very orangey, keep going, Mina,"

"Yeah, talk about the blue of the ocean," Momo spoke up as Mina turned to her, "I'm enjoying this." Sana nodded.

"Hmm...the blue of the water, feeling the water touch your ankles and hearing them coming in and out on the shore but it becomes a deeper shade of blue the more it goes on and...and even the green of the trees is a very down–to–earth color with the rustling of the leaves in the air is just like the water. I guess the best to describe the two is calming, refreshing, and relaxing. We'll show you those in a bit,"

You liked the way she described green and blue, though it wasn't your favorite colors as your mind was vivid with the colors, and while your parents had simple descriptions of what Mina had, Mina did it with such ease.

Mina took such care in describing them to you as if she really wanted to get it perfectly right. 

"What about the sky?" Sana asked as Mina was fully into this.

"I would say the sky is light blue, thankfully there are clouds to cover the sun, but when there aren't many clouds and the sun isn't burning us, the day itself is bright and lively...speaking of clouds, they're white like snow or milk: a pure and clean color,"

You hummed and rose your head upwards as Mina watched.

"Interesting, what are your favorite colors?" You questioned.

"Pink," "Pink," Both Momo and Sana answered as they nodded at one another.

"Purple," Mina answered.

"Can you describe those too?" You infringed.

"Well pink," Sana started, "umm, is a nice, bright, and sweet color that pops out. Seeing the color makes me warm and calming like flowers or cotton candy!" You nodded. 

"Purple is unique in my opinion, it's a very elegant color I would say. I could say it's like listening to classical music and what it brings." Mina pointed out as you smiled.

"Soothing then,"

"Yes, very soothing indeed." Mina nodded with you.

"Hmm...so the hard grey, lazy tan, comforting orange, energetic yellow, hot red, down-to-earth green, calm blue, pure white, sweet pink, and elegant purple...those all sound very nice."

"They all sound really cool," you said, full of awe.  

And it was. 

At that moment, it was almost as if you could see again, but not in a literal sense.

You almost saw the beautiful hues and shades Mina had told you about. 

The colors that you hadn't been able to remember or imagine had been replaced by a series of sensory-focused descriptions that gave you a sense of how to feel when you heard the names of the colors. 

They weren't perfect and they certainly didn't replace the faint black-and-white memories of colors you'd had from before you went blind, but they were better than nothing and you quite enjoyed hearing about them.

"Thank you three. Hearing those colors were wonderful to hear." 

"Hey it was all Mina," Sana pointed at her, "even I was touched by it,"

"True and I didn't say anything." Momo had to admit.

"You didn't to Momo, I'm sure you would do your best. And I'm saying thanks for everything prior to this. I've told Mina, but you and Sana are very kind for the past week."

"Hehe, no thanks needed (YN), we're happy to help." Momo returned as you nodded, "and I'll  be happy to describe the many other colors and stuff to you as well when we see them." She added.

"Me too."

"Same." Mina and Sana joined as you nodded afterward and now you wanted to get to the fun.

"Thanks, now then, I think it's time we start enjoying yeah? Shall we start building a castle?" You suggested as Sana was happy you said that and brought out her tools of buckets and toy shovels from her bag in swift motion.

"Yes! Let's do this!" Sana was happy that's for sure but before she could leave.

"Wait, our sunscreen," Mina spoke up.

"Momo and I already did before we left the car," Sana said.

"Then we'll catch up, you two can go ahead," she pointed at the shore as both Momo and Sana started to go.

"Hurry up! Come on Momo!" Sana with her child like antics was already running as Momo chased her.

"I call making the river!" Momo rose her hand as Mina shook her head.

"Their energy is high," you noted as Mina nodded.

"You can say that again. Here I'll get the sunscreen," Mina went into her bag and pull out a bottle, "hand out please," you did so and felt a cold liquid squirted onto your palm, "there you go,"

"Thanks." you said while rubbing your visible skin, you weren't going to take your shirt off and neither was Mina as the two finished after forty seconds or so.

"Ready?" She asked while you nodded, "hand," you held your hand as Mina grabbed it in hers and the two of you started to walk towards Sana and Momo already playing in the moist sand of the shore.

"..."

"..."

"...hey Mina," you said to gather her attention.

"Hmm?" She turned to you looking right at you and for a second, Mina felt like you had your sight, staring right at her.

"What color are your eyes?" You asked, thinking back to the time when they first met and you wanted to know what she looked like.

"Black," she replied, "I guess it can be described as...hmm...dark and mysterious." She nodded at her answer.

"...and pretty."

Mina stopped in place as you did as well.

"Pretty?" She repeated as you turned your body to her.

"Yeah, black is all I can see and I've grown accustomed to having it go from a negative to a positive. Since I can't see anything, I'd have to go with my imagination and figure out what the item, person, place, or anything really looks like. Of course, I know some stuff, but getting introduced to new things, it's sort of fun."

Mina kept her gaze.

"It's like a...what's the word that we draw on stuff?"

"Canvas?" 

"Yeah, my sight is essentially a blank, black canvas. The way everything is described to me, heard, felt, everything is shaped in my 'canvas' and rather than trying to be realistic, I sometimes tend to exaggerate or go with what I think. And sometimes those exaggerations lead to being cool, memorizing, and pretty and...and that's why," you turned towards Mina and was almost dead set on her eyes, just a couple of inches to the right of her, "so sure, black is mysterious and dark as you say, but I think your eyes are pretty too."

You didn't falter in your words as you meant what you said and Mina...Mina felt her heart swerve.

Boys have complimented her before, but she knew it was just to be a lucky night with her, but from you, it felt...genuine.

True.

Real.

You weren't trying to flirt, but giving Mina a boost in her self confidence and while she didn't think her eyes were dull, hearing what you said magnified her opinions. 

And now, Mina couldn't control her smile and even chuckled, not from embarrassment, but from the warmth and flattery you gave her.

She didn't say a word for it and instead...you felt something heavy on your shoulder and ticklish on your neck and side of your head.

It wasn't hard to figure that it was the top of Mina's head laid on your shoulder and you didn't mind either as you smiled forward.

"Thank you," 

"Of course Mina," you returned as the two slowly made their way.

Mina knew that she would get teased to oblivion if Momo and Sana saw the position but honestly...she didn't care.

Also...

If this was one week into the school with you, she couldn't wait to see what the rest of the year would consist of.

=========================================

AND THAT'S THAT!

Part 2 is done and now part 3 is in the works. 

I promise it won't take long as I have ideas ready to put down like our school experience, Reo/Mina/You, Mina's recitals, and a future situation!

Oh I can't wait (rubs hands)

No spoilers though.

Thanks for pausing your life to reading this! Vote/Comment and thanks again! 

[boyfhee]

no no no, it is not for counselling no never 😒 i would no pray for god when i am not even expecting a seat in college, i and my friends have been thinking since last year to watch mahabharatam actually, so we are doing it now since kalki 2829 AD is based on mahabharatam 😁

i did heard news of re conducting neet so i don't know but all the best if they do it again 🫶🏼 and i think i would be busy too hehe but i do not know if classes would be really hard cause the gap between my last class and my first class would be 8 months (feb 12 was my last class and sept 1st week would be my first 😭)

i am not ready yet but hope you would do well in your classes sweetheart, i know you will do your best 😊 also, my relatives will come tomorrow morning so cant expect me to send you an ask the next whole week 😭 i will miss you bby <33

and being an anon, well i am 🪷 anon for sru (@bywons) 🧸 anon for jiah (@okwonyo) and 🍮 anon (@luvlyhee xuan i am sorry i didn't send you an ask, i was busy with certificate verification ㅠㅠ) that's it i guess 😭😭😭

it is not that hard but so endearing when you guys reply to me, i find it so warm and comforting that you guys spend time to reply to my long ass asks (especially you) soo i respect the energy you guys have to respond to me or any other anon 😭😭😭 love you lots bbygirls <333

— lover club anon <3

ooo yes my dad told me his friend from work went to watch it :O he says it's nice and i did ask my dad if we can go too but he didn't say anything TT today is the hearing of sc for neet .. let's see how it goes >< AND PLEASE this multiple choice thingy has ruined my habit for writing long answers .. i acc need to write a lot before classes started or i'll lose it when it comes to lab work ..

although, i hope when your classes start, you don't take it hard ! getting back into the studying rhythm can be hard after such a long break but take it easy, give yourself some time to accommodate, it's going to work out in your favour :D have fun with ur relatives, i will miss u mwah

i guessed sru's and jiah's ! i saw u talking ab management seats on sru's and was like oh O_O that's lover nonie ! but it's rlly sweet that you're sending these super nice and supportive asks to us >< i will not lie, it is draining sometimes to answer asks but thank you for being patient with us ! it's always good to see you in the ask box. i will not speak for anyone else, but personally you're one of my fav people to talk to even tho you're on anon ( get on insta again ... pleek ) love u too ♥︎

[lenaswritingandstuff]

Losing Game [Antoine Griezmann x fem!OC] (Chap. V)

Requested: No​

Pairing: Antoine Griezmann x OC!Gabrielle Darian; more to be added.

Warnings: English is not my first language!

Wordcount: 3.5K+

A/N: LMAO I got confused with latin numbers while editing the last chapter and I put 9 instead of 4, SORRY!! Therefore this is the fifht chapter. Thank you for still reading! GIF IS NOT MINE. Enjoy!

Previous chapter

When I wake up, Louisa is already up, sitting in the kitchen with her eyes focused on a lesson. We both have finals today, and to say we’re stressed wouldn’t do it justice. She raises her head towards me and smiles to me, and then puts her attention back on her paper. I’m not really hungry but I force myself to eat something with my coffee, so I don’t pass out during the final. Louisa goes to the bathroom to get dressed up, and she comes back when I’m done eating and reading today’s news. She walks to the entrance to leave but I call her back.

“Lou’, wait!”

I gesture her to come back in the living room.

“You’re gonna nail it, okay? You’re the smartest girl I know, and you will succeed. I have the utmost faith in you. Okay?”

She hugs me tight and I think for a second that she’s gonna start crying.

“Thanks, honey. You’re gonna nail it too, I’m sure.”

We separate, and she leaves. I quickly get ready, and then leave too. The finals take place in a college for obvious reasons, but since I never went to it – and knowing me – it’s very possible for me to get lost. I leave early to arrive early. We never know.  After thirty-five minutes, I get in a parking lot and I see a building with a lot of windows. I check the time, and see that I’m thirty minutes early, and also see that I’ve got a message from my maternal grandmother, Marguerite.

“Hello sweetie, I hope you’re well. I wish you good luck for your finals, I’m sure you will do well. Love you.”

Her message really touches me. My grandma and I have always been close, and I would always go on vacation to her place in Nice, in the South, during summer break when my mother wanted to basically get rid of me. Not a word from my parents nor my brother, but I expected it. My mother must think I’ll fail – that’s if she even knows my finals are today – and my father would be able to tell which course I took. As for Noah, I can’t recall the last time he said a nice thing to me. My level of stress raises up, if it’s possible, and I take the time I have left to study one last time. I send a last message of encouragement to Louisa, answers my grandma, and then it’s time to go. I enter the college’s courtyard and follow the signs that indicate where I’m supposed to go. People around me seem rather calm – how? – even though I see some worried faces. The subjects are given I pray the God of Studies that it doesn’t go too bad for me. After making a draft, I write my essay, and I’m surprised to see that I have finished fifteen minutes early. I put my work on the wooden desk like the others and leave the room, which leads outside. It feels good to have some fresh air. I search for my phone in my bag when I feel a small paper touch my fingers. I take it out and observe the number and the letter – a simple “A.” – written on it for a while, and then I do something I never thought I’d do.

“Hi, it’s Gabrielle, I hope you’re good – and that you still remember me. We could decide on a day to see each other if you’d like?”

I send the message, praying not to look like an idiot. I stay here thinking about a potential answer when I notice some students walking to another room. I check the time and see that it’s already time to go. I’ve never been good in Linguistic class – heaven knows I tried to study it hard to get better – and I have to stop myself from laughing when I see the questions of the finals. I do my best to focus but having the face of a certain football player on my mind instead of my classes doesn’t not freaking help. I let out a sigh, and when I raise my head up to drink some water, seeing the other student write long answers makes me want to scream. After an hour, I finally give up and give back my final. I quickly walk to the door, and I barely have a foot out of the room that my phone is already in my hand. I hesitate to look at it to see if he has answered and look at the black screen for a moment. Oh, screw it. I turn it on and see I’ve got two messages. The first one is from my mother, who orders me to come work this week-end. The second is from the contact I saved right before the final.

“It would be my pleasure, just tell me which me days suits you :) ."

“IP.S: I don’t know how I could forget about you.”

I jump around and let out a small scream of joy without realizing it and I look around to make sure nobody saw me. That’s the kind of behavior my mother hates. I get a message from Louisa telling me she’s waiting for me in front the college’s main entrance, and I walk to her. I see her from afar.

“Oh my God, Gaby, it was hell!” she exclaims. “I don’t even know how that teacher could think of that kind of questions, he really is a- What is that smile for? No, wait, don’t tell me,” she says before I can answer, “We’ll find a place to eat, you’ll tell me there.

“Alright.”

We easily find a little place to eat, we order and Louisa leans towards me with a curious look in her eyes.

“So, what caused that idiotic smile on your face?” she asks.

Without a word, I take out my phone and put it in front of her. She looks at it, frowning, and then looks back at me, shocked.

“No way!”

“I know.”

“You finally decided to move that ass,” she says with a satisfied smile. “How come?”

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “I found his number in my bag, and send him a message without thinking.”

“You were right to do so. What are you waiting for? Answer him!”

I answer Antoine that I’m free on Thursday night – since I don’t have any final on Friday, a true miracle – if it works for him too. The waiter gives us our orders when I get a message from Antoine. Hell, do this boy ever work? He says that Thursday is “perfect” and that he can’t wait. I show it to Louisa, who does a little dance of joy and excitement.

“He’s so into you,” she says. “And if you tell me he’s just being polite, I swear I’ll stab you right here right now.”

We laugh and then Louisa suddenly gives me a serious look.

“You’ve got a date.

“I’ve got a date.” I repeat, looking at nothing in particular.

I’ve got a date.

*-*

“How did it go?” Louisa asks the moment I get home from work.

I take off my shoes and my jacket.

“Not too bad,” I say, joining her in the living-room.

It’s a lie. My last final of the year did not exactly go as planned, mostly because my brain was actually thinking about a certain tricker with blue eyes – and the date night ahead of us – instead of thinking about the paper in front of me. As for Louisa, she has had her last final the day before, and was now spending her free time making me try different outfits for my future date, but I didn’t like any of them so far – and neither did Louisa. I should feel relieved that my finals are over, but the stress of the exams switched into stress about my date. One could wonder if I’ll be one day in peace.

I sit on the sofa besides Louisa and we talk while watching something a bit idiotic on TV. She tells me she already has started to search for a job this summer – maybe even longer than that, because even if her parents pay most of her expenses, she’d like to be independent – just like I do. I promise her to talk about it to my mother tomorrow, maybe the company is looking for interns. She thanks me, and then proposes we go on vacation, either in the South of France – where my grandmother lives – or even in another country.

“It seems like a good idea to me,” she says. “But we’ll have to look the date of the Word Cup Final, if the Bleus go so far into the competition,” she ads in a teasing tone.

“You mean if-”

“If you and Griezmann start a great love story, yes,” she laughs.

I roll my eyes and decide to back to the vacation topic. Louisa doesn’t know that Antoine and I have been talking via messages basically every day since I send him that message and have been calling each other several times. And what she also doesn’t know is that after only a few days, I feel like I’ve known Antoine since, like, years.

“I’m gonna have to ask my mother,” I say. “But we know how she is.”

My mother rules almost everything that happen inside the company, including the employees’ vacation – and even the things that she doesn’t decide must be approved by her before putting in place. When we see the list of the things that depends on her, you could wonder how could my father and my brother be possibly useful.

“Since you work there, you’ve taken vacation once. You deserve to get some rest.”

“Well, let’s hope my mother agrees with you. I already ask her for some days off for the exams, I doubt she’ll accept to give me a vacation.”

The moment where I think it’s a lost cause, I get a message from Antoine asking me how did my final go.

*-*

When I leave to work the day after, Louisa is still sleeping. I’m afraid I’ll arrive late because of traffic – which would take away the already slim chances I have for my mother to give me some vacation – but it would seem that miracles happen, because I manage to arrive in time. I pass the front door and walk to the reception secretary.

“Good morning, Miss Gabrielle, she says. “It’s good to see you here.”

“Happy to be here,” I answer. “Is my mother here?”

“Yes,”

“Do you mind calling her to ask her if I can meet her in her office?” I ask. “I need to talk to her.”

It’s better to use the “official way” and arrive with a head down than to just go for it.

“Of course. Is it urgent?”

“No,” I say, “but I’d like for this to be settled quickly.”

“Your mother has an appointment right now but as soon as it’s over I’ll call her and I’ll let you know what she said.”

“Thanks a lot.”

I’m heading for the fourth floor, thinking that my mother will probably refuse to see me and tell me to ask for what I want via her assistant. I say “hi” to my coworkers, who ask how the finals went, and when I come near my desk I see a little note telling me I’m in charge of organizing the next gala, and that I got an email will the information I might need. Oh, kill me. But weirdly, the note is not from my mother or even my father, but from my brother. I let out a sigh and decide to start working on it immediately. The sooner it’s done the better. I quickly answer a text from Antoine and sit behind my desk. Like last time, I decide from an appropriate – and cheap, obviously – place for the gala – and then pick a caterer. I start to write the invites for guests I haven’t picked yet – and by “I” I mean “my mother” – when I receive a call from the reception secretary, who tells me I can go see my mother anytime I like. Well, that’s a first. I thank her and use the elevator to go on the last floor of the building. Walking near my brother’s office, I hear giggles behind the door, which opens at the moment I walk pass it. My brother appears, a blonde girl – another one – following him closely. They are both wearing a jacket and she has her purse. Apparently they’re planning on going for a walk.

“Oh, hey there,” my brother says, giving me a big smile.

Is he high or something?

He walks in my direction and his new girlfriend smiles at me too.

“What’s up?” my brother asks. “That’s my little sister,” he adds to the blonde.

“Oh, nice to meet you.”

“You too,” I say politely.

“What brings you on this floor?” he asks me. “It’s rare to see here.”

“I have to ask our mother for something,” I say, a bit in a defensive spirit.

“I’ll wait for you outside, Noah,” the young woman tells him. “It was nice to meet you.”

Another girl who won’t know that my brother will have a new girl in his bed in three days.

“Do our parents know you’re brining girls here?” I ask once the girl got in the elevator.

I include our father in my question, as he already scolded Noah for having one of his dates come here when he was supposed to be working. It was one of the rare times where I saw my father disagree with my mother with it came to Noah. My brother put his hand on his neck, feeling a bit awkward.

“Hum, nah, not really. But since you’re in charge of the next gala, I don’t think my presence here is necessary. You did a good job last time, there’s no reason why it should be different this time.”

I think that’s the first compliment I’ve heard from him in at least five years. I’m so taken back that I don’t know what to say.

“Well, I shouldn’t make Lea wait. See ya, sis.”

He gives me a shy smile and heads for the elevator. What do I do now? Watching him leave, I wonder if he expects me not to tell our parents about his little evasion – if we consider they would scold him if they knew. A bit confused, I walk to my mother’s office, where her assistant let my mother know I’m here.

“You can come in.”

I push the door and I’m surprised to see that my mother isn’t alone. Sat behind her desk, she’s turned towards my father, standing on her left, his hands on the desk.

“Hello, Gabrielle,” my father tells me with a small smile. “You look great.”

I nod, and my mother barely looks at me.

“What is it now?” she asks, finally looking at me.

“I’d like to talk about my vacation,” I say, trying to ignore the self-confidence leaving my body.

My mother remains silent and raise an eyebrow to tell me to continue.

“Well, I’d like for us to determine when I can have them.”

“No problem,” my father says. “How many weeks?”

I’ll admit I didn’t think of that one. Louisa and I talked about destinations, not how much time we would spend away.

“I don’t know,” I admit, a bit embarrassed. “A week or two, I guess.”

My father turns to my mother.

“After the next gala, we won’t held one until the end of July or even the beginning of August. You can have three weeks, or a month if you want.” he adds for me.

“I was planning on holding one in the middle of July, actually”, my mother retorts.

“You can still do it,” my father answers softly, not at all impressed. “But the little one deserves a vacation.”

That what my father always called me, for as long as I can remember. The little one.

“And you owe a vacation to me,” I add to my mother. “It’s the law.”

My mother gives me a cold look before sighing.

“Fine. The gala is next week, you can go on vacation after.”

“Alright.”

It gives Louisa and I some time to decide where we’re gonna go, even though I know she’ll hold a little campaign for us to go to Russia if – if – it somehow works between me and Antoine.

“Anything else?” my mother asks, already eager for me to leave.

“Are we looking for interns or something like that? Louisa would like to have a job this summer. After our vacation, I guess.”

This time, my mom doesn’t seem to protest.

“I’ll contact her.”

“Thanks. Well, hum, bye.”

“I’m gonna go too, I have work to do.” my father says. “See you tonight, Anita.”

He opens the door for me and we both leave my mother’s office.

“So, how is college going?” my father asks, almost as awkward as usual.

“My finals are done.”

“There is no reason why you shouldn’t succeed.”

Then why did you ignore me my whole life? He heads for his office, on the other side of the corridor, and I go for the elevator. He waves at me and the elevator’s door close.

Once my day is done, I come home to announce to Louisa that not only my mother will hire her but that we’re going on vacation. These good news make her smile after the apparently chaotic moment she spent with her parents. We sit on the sofa and she tells me what happened.

“I thought my parents were gonna make an effort,” she says, and I can tell she’s very sad and disappointed. “That’s why I accepted to have lunch at their house when they said Tatiana would be there too.”

Louisa’s family – her parents in particular – are very conservative and very religious. It had never been a problem – they’ve been nice to me and they are generally generous – until the day Tatiana came out as gay. She was nineteen, Louisa was seventeen. They threw Tatiana out and Louisa never forgave them. And their parents, who had never showed any favoritism toward any of their daughter immediately started to spoil Louisa and started to want to be much closer to her. They even were way warmer than usual towards me, as if they wanted me – and Louisa agrees on this – to take Tatiana’s place. I’ve always felt sad for her, no one deserves to be treated this way by their family. We took her in until she was ready to live alone, but I know it was hard for her too. Thankfully she’s better now.

“At the beginning it was rather good,” Louisa says. “Even though my parents would always give her mean remarks and I was given a hundred compliments per minute. But at one point Tatiana said she hadn’t come alone, and I saw in my parents’ eyes that they hoped it was a man. But when Lyse arrived, my parents got angry as usual and almost insulted Tatiana.”

My heart breaks for Tatiana. She probably had hope that her parents were finally accepting her as they should, only to get rejected again.

“I got mad and the three of us left. I even think I broke a glass when leaving, whatever. Lyse is so cool, and my sister deserves to be happy.”

“Of course,” I say in a voice I hope is comforting. “She must know that she’s not the one that needs to change. And if your parents don’t want to change, well, too bad for them. Sometimes you have to detach yourself from family. Neither you nor her need them. If your parents can realize they have badass daughters, screw them.”

She smiles at me, and I propose to have Tatiana and her girlfriend come diner soon.

*-*

We invite Tatiana and Lyse on Wednesday night, and it goes so well that I almost forget about the stress of my date the day after. I don’t sleep well that night – like every time I stress – and have such awful nightmares that I screamed in my sleep and Louisa had to wake me up. I only work the morning and I thank heaven for that, as it will allow me to take a nap and get some sleep back in order not to look like a zombie for my date with Antoine. Heck, it’s the first time I care that much about my looks. The morning goes fast, too fast, and I think several times that I’m more stressful about that date that I’m excited. And even though I love Louisa, her teasing does not help. Antoine sends me a message so we can decide on the place and the time, and he immediately accept the hour I propose – homeboy isn’t difficult – adding he can’t wait to see me. To say I’m not looking forward to it as well would be a lie, but to say I’m more stressful about this date with Antoine Griezmann than I’ve ever been in my entire life, that’s the real truth.

NEXT CHAPTER

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[too-scared-to-tell-my-therapist]

16th october, 2024, 04:50

im really scared. like, really really scared. im afraid of everything thats going on at school. im afraid i might be falling back in love with sage, which scares me. the butterflies in my stomach could however actually be my stomach churning with the anxiety of talking to them. yeah wait, im definitly not crushing on them, im just terrified of every interaction i have with them. im also scared about all of the stuff going on with harry. its scary. i dont know what hes saying to my friends about me. i know he told ares that i had a crush on ares (which is insane) and he texted ares telling him not to date me. i actually called him and talked to him about it. i wanted to make sure that he wasnt spreading that to our other friends. i also wanted to make sure he knew what he was saying wasnt true. he told me he said it to hades but that he didnt believe it. i have a bad memory but i remember that vividly. i then asked why he said it and i cant remember whether or not he answered. he either said he did it just because, or he changed the subject, or he went on a ramble and never actually gave me an answer. he mightve given me something that seemed like an answer but wasnt. i dont remember. but i asked him later in the call and he said that he never said it, even though he admitted to saying it earlier in the same fucking call. i was so mad. i also asked him about the text, because he cant deny that, there's a screenshot. and i was talking to him about it and was saying "hey i want you to know that that isnt going to happen. if ares tries to make romantic advances on me i probably am going to be completely oblivious but if i recognize whats happening ill shut it down right away. also, in order for him to date me, i have to consent, which i WILL NOT never will i ever. i see him as a man through and through, and i am a full blown lesbian." he told me that someone said i had changed my sexuality, but he wouldnt say who. i wish i told him to tell whoever it was that i am still a lesbian and i never changed anything

i actually wrote down everything so that 1. i would know what bases i wanted to cover and to get out what i wanted to say so i want going in blind, and 2. to have a record of what i said so he cant say i did something i didnt.

this is basically what i said:

"hey, i wanted to talk about the stuff that ive heard you said about me. ares told me you said that i have a crush on him, and i saw a sc of you telling him not to date me. that kind of stuff made me feel like i had to get involved, which i now realize isnt true, so im going to try to back off from both of you. but with this still looming over me, i feel like theres still some unfinished business.

i want you to know that i am a lesbian through and through, i completely see ares as a man and in no other way, i dont even think id be able to see him as anything else. i wouldt want to date him even if i didn't, the notion is honestly kind of disgusting to me, like gags

and even if that werent the case, after everything that happened with sage there is no way that id ever, ever date anyone in the friend group ever again.

please stop saying things like that, it makes me upset and i feel like youre trying to turn all of our friends against me, and thats literally my biggest fear.

at first when i heard that you said that, i kind of thought you were joking, because it was almost like you really belived the rumors about hades cheating on you with me.

i also want to explain the fact that ares and i suddenly grew closer because thats the way our schedules worked out. not because we suddely had some newfound romantic interest in each other. im in the same rti room as him, and i have multiple classes with him, one where we got to choose our seats. in this rti room and that class, it was obvious that i would opt to sit next to my friend rather than with a stranger or by myself. so yes, him and i have grown closer, but it was simply because it just worked out that way."

at least thats what i wrote down. i wish id recorded the call. i always record the stuff that happens in classes so i can go back and understand assignments or notes or if i forget to write down the homework. one plus of that is that i can come back to conversations i had with friends and pull stuff up so that we dont forget it. i wish ares did the same.

im also scared that harry is trying to take(?) or like turn my friends away from me. and im afraid that its working this time. it might be my anxiety telling me that its working but i still do feel like he says bad things about me disguised as venting. or he doesnt realise hes saying bad things about me to MY friends while hes venting. i get that theyre his friends too. im not trying at all to take that away from him. i just want him to recognize that theyre also my friends too. idont say mean things about him to them because i know it feels like shit when people say bad stuff about your friends. i just feel like theyre only getting his side of the story. im probably gonna sit alone at lunch tomorrow. i might go to guidance and eat lunch in ms deweeses office. i kinda wanna ask micha to go with me. i want to talk to micha more. i miss them, so much. im terrified of losing my friends because of some silly squabble and i feel completely powerless right now. fucking hell

[remcycl333]

Hello rem. I hope you answer my ask because I think nobody else is gonna. My sc has been really well for the past few days and today it kind of broke down. I tried being not that person who always keeps asking what am I doing wrong or what more can I do. But today I'm seeking help too. Today I realised it's been almost 3 months since I went for my classes because I've been trying the void and failing and now I have lost count of days and months. I didn't have anyone as friends there in my college but I did have people I used to hangout with. I was thinking hey I'm revamping everything so it doesn't matter and then I kind of completely ghosted them out and I was actually afraid I would run into one of them someday because we all live in the same city (yes I'm aware my thoughts created that). I literally have been living a double life. And even though I have successfully managed to escape seeing them 5-6 times sneakily, today one of them saw me and came upto me to talk. I was really nervous throughout the whole interaction because that meant I would've had to explain stuff in case they ask. She didn't ask anything except for what I'm doing now. That shook me to my core. Because apparently they all think I left college and is somewhere else now. No-one including my parents and people I live in that is except for my classmates know I've been bunking classes for like 3 months. Idk what to do. I was planning on entering the void again tonight but somehow that interaction stirred something up in me, almost feeling stupid because that college I'm in now where I'm bunking classes, I manifested that. So that's a shame. I don't have anyone to talk this with and its all on me. If I accept this shitty reality then I'll be a manipulator and considered an ungrateful bitch and a shitty person. I know I'm not. I cannot give up because I don't want to give in to this reality because it's gonna suck really hard. Been trying to hold on but oh my god I feel like it's a dead end. What should I do? It's time for us to pay the fee for this semester and if I don't tell my parents about it everything is gonna turn into a big mess. I'm running out of time. I should enter the void asap. Otherwise I don't know how long I'll be able to live this double life for. I don't want to manifest the usual way because I honestly don't know when the 3d is gonna show that up. I know I shouldn't be concerned about time but I cannot not be because thats the environment here. It's like trying to revise someone's death while being at their funeral. Then again I'm thinking is it possible for me to be that delusional? I don't even care I ranted because I just needed to get it off my chest and its been weighing me down heavily. What should I do? Is there anything you can tell me which can get me out of this mental image? I really really really want to enter the void and infact I'm going to tonight. But to think I've been living like this for 3 months is terrible. Please tell me honestly what I should do?

If you read till here, that itself is a big thing. Thank you for hearing me out. Now can you please help me out by telling me what to do?

hi love!! you can deal with your current reality and still continue to manifest your dream life! tell your parents about the fees before you create even more stress for yourself. then work on your self concept!!! affirm your life is perfect and your 3D conforms instantly. if you really really want to enter the void, put in the work!! you can try the 10k affirmations challenge and affirm for your void concept. saturate your mind with the idea that you can get into the void with ease and that your getting in tonight for a fact. i’m hoping that through sending this ask you were able to get a lot off your chest!! but continuing forward you have to stop complaining and acknowledging all of the stuff you don’t want, bc by doing so you’re manifesting more of it in your reality. you can manifest some things in your 3D being better—such as your relationships with your friends—and still work on getting into the void. you don’t have to choose one or the other!! hopefully through affirming and saturating your mind you can bring back some of your hope. and stop taking no as an answer!!! u can get in the void TONIGHT if u put ur foot down. if you really want it i recommend you put in the effort to work on your void concept!!!

[isuggestwishcraft]

(Please note that I refer to Niko as a boy, and I thought of him as such since I saw him! Do NOT tell me that he is She or They, because I will ignore it!)

Hey, me again, with proper sc fic <3 a bit short, but hey.

@sharedcontrolau, enjoy

---

The Messiah

Once, Niko was a messiah.

It never showed after his little misadventure, but once, he was a savior. Predicted, expected and painfully real. A kid, designed to save the world he knew nothing about, the villages and people he saw never since.

Once, Niko was a person.

He was one before, until The Entity told him their pain. How they're not tamed, how they had nothing more to do than just watch their words, their creation, their whole being fall apart. Not as they pleaded for him to abandon this plane of existence.

Now… Niko doesn't know who he is.

He never saw that world, the world he saved. He never heard his dear friend, who always watched over his back. He never read another book with a little fox, a robot or another kid in a hat.

So who is he, if not a dreamer? A little sleeping price.

But, ah, he knows that what he saw that day was never his imagination. Because, how can he have a journal with a small black clover on it's cover any other way?

***

Niko moved into this little town not too long ago. He is fourteen, and his village couldn't keep up with his suddenly sharp mind.

So, his mother, as well as Niko himself, moved away.

It was… hard, for a few days, or weeks. Waking up without his routine of singing birds and the lovely smell of wheat was tiring, somehow. His mother too, but she adapted quicker than him.

Which was a surprise, considering how he changed his dislocation about five years ago.

…It still gave him jabs of sadness, remembering that he couldn't talk to Player anymore.

Alas, otherwise his life was pretty great.

Miss Toriel seems nice, miss Alphys too — if slightly timid. He liked her, really, but couldn't help being a bit disappointed how passive she was, especially with kids. Made her lessons just a little too boring.

He didn't have many friends. Close to none, actually, but who he knows is cool. Kris, for example, is not talkative, but a great listener, and they didn't make fun of when he told them about his dream adventure.

(But deeply down he knows — it's not that simple. It's not a dream.)

Asriel, Kris' brother, was nice too. Shame he went to college, and could only come back in summer.

But, other than that little sadness, his life was pretty neat.

Until something changed, slightly. It was a shift, but Niko knew that shift, somehow. He… couldn't really tell what has changed, if changed at all, but…

It did. He knew.

And Kris, for the first time in a week, visited school with a surprise, and Niko couldn't be more happy than they did.

***

"So, you… Okay there?"

Kris flinched, a bit, sitting alone in hollow class, and met Nikos golden gaze with their red eyes.

(Niko knew they were in clouds often, but never to this extent.)

* ...yes.

"Oh, good. You just kinda look off today." He sighs. "You know you can tell me weird things, right?"

* I do, but- uh, I don't know… how would you react to something, ah, this weird.

Niko blinked. His skin covered with goosebumps as he felt that someth- someone blinked right behind Kris' shoulder.

"Oh." He said aloud.

Oh, he thought, barely holding back tears.

Kris seemingly didn't notice his crumbling self-control, just as much as didn't pay attention that the God near them went deadly stiff.

* Yeah… You probably felt that, right..?

Niko nodded. Kris sucked in their breath.

* They had appeared this morning, I guess. Scared me, hard, and well… told me a bunch of stories.

They eyed him.

* And one of them was suspiciously like yours.

And Niko smiled in answer, and cried when heard the Voice he thought he lost forever.

“Long time no see.” God whispered to their Messiah, a friend greeting an old friend.

And Niko felt at peace.

[gracie-rosee]

Hopscotch & Sidewalk Chalk | Three

I hope you enjoy this chapter. AND! Please read the important tag list information at the end. If you see weird things like multiple of the same paragraph... ignore it. The Tumblr text editor was fighting me. Honestly, I just kinda gave up and hoped for the best. This is my third time trying to post so fingers crossed!

Word Count: 4,125 Warnings: none

H&SC Masterlist

-

"I got you!" Eleanora's voice comes from behind Aelin. She turns around with her eyebrows raised, wondering what her child is up to. It was Halloween– a holiday her daughter took very seriously. Her little girl was currently dressed up as Jessie from the Toy Story movies, and she had the whole costume almost exactly like the films, including cowgirl boots and a hat sitting on her strawberry blonde hair that Aelin braided.

"You sure did, kiddo," Aelin laughs, looking down at her feet where Eleanora's "lasso" was lying at her shoes. Having bought the costume almost at the last minute, Aelin didn't really have time to find the props, so the lasso her daughter was using was really a jump rope she found in the garage.

"Are you excited, Ella?" Aelin asks, already knowing the answer.

Her daughter beams, showing off the baby teeth she still has. "Yes!" She yells, practically breaking the sound barrier with her squeals. "Hollin issa pirate!" Eleanora declares, speaking of her older friend. Hollin was the little brother of Dorian, a friend Aelin had made in her first year of college, before Eleanora was born. He was also a spoiled brat that had absolutely no manners whatsoever. Aelin fears the day Hollin and her precious daughter will be in high school together. The thought alone is enough to give her shivers.

Eleanora is babbling about school and the friends that she's making. She is only half listening, her mind wandering off against her will.

Eleanora has been going to school for a month now, but every day Aelin drops her off, she feels like a little piece of her heart chips away and goes with her. After Aelin took her to the first day of school, she went home and cried for half an hour. It was fortunate that she didn't have any classes or work to go to that day.

Rowan made the hours without her daughter a little more bearable. He would often text her throughout the day, asking her how she was doing or just making easy conversation. There were times when he would come over to study with her, or to simply spend time together. He was a welcomed distraction.

They hadn't been on any more "dates" since he stayed over for dinner a month ago, but they have been making excuses to see one another as often as they could. That night, Eleanora fell asleep watching The Little Mermaid, so Aelin went and tucked her into bed. Her and Rowan continued watching TV until she eventually–and embarrassingly–fell asleep with her head tucked into his shoulder.

She woke a while later when Rowan started stirring beside her. The movie had apparently ended while she dozed off and it was getting pretty late. Rowan pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before bidding her good night seeing himself out.

After getting up and checking on her daughter, who was still adorably asleep, Aelin made her way to her own bed and fell asleep that night with a permanent smile on her face.

Eleanora was currently hopping up and down, tugging at her sleeve. The toddler absolutely loved going trick-or-treating and was itching to get going.

"Alright Ella, we can go. Just let me grab my jacket," she said, stopping her daughters jumping with her hands on her tiny shoulders. The answer apparently wasn't good enough for her and Aelin heard her mumble an annoyed "hurry up."

Aelin chuckles at her daughter's impatience, but a shadow was cast over her good mood. Aelin was generally a patient person with most things, so the trait was one of the few things Eleanora hadn't inherited from her. She was eternally grateful that her daughter mostly took after herself, and hadn't inherited many traits from her father. Every time she looked into Eleanora's bright blue eyes that reflected her own, she sent a prayer of thanks to the gods that she didn't have to look at her daughter and see him. Not that it would really matter if she did resemble him. Aelin would love her daughter no matter what. If she had grey eyes rather than blue, or red hair instead of blonde, Aelin would still love her as her own. Because that's what Eleanora was–she was Aelin's daughter.

The sound of someone ringing on the doorbell brought Aelin's attention back to the present. It was still early, but most of the younger children in the neighborhood were usually out trick-or-treating while it was still light out.

Eleanora was busy looping the short jump rope through her belt loops, so Aelin headed towards the door, picking up the bowl of candy on her way.

"Trick or Treat!" The kids on her doorstep were no older than Eleanora and were wearing matching pirate costumes. Aelin smiled, remembering a time when she and Aedion would run around the halls of this very house, playing make believe and pretending to be pirates or faeries. Handing them each a few pieces of candy, she waves to their mother behind them, who Aelin recognizes as one of her neighbors from down the street. The children yell an excited thank you before running back down the driveway towards their mother.

Aelin smiles, closing the door behind them and turning back to Eleanora. "Are you ready to go now, Ella?" She asks her daughter, holding out her hand for her to take. She beams, running up and grabbing her mother's outstretched hand in one hand, grasping her little pumpkin basket in the other.

Eleanora practically drags Aelin out the door, barely giving her time to turn off the porch lights and lock the door behind them. They walk hand in hand down the sidewalk, over Eleanora's chalk scribbles and doodles. Aelin only lets go of her daughter's hand to let her walk up to the doors, staying behind and taking occasional pictures of her little girl.

As the sun starts to fully set, they make their way down the road to the familiar brick house belonging to Rowan. He's not much of a decorator, but on his front steps are two pumpkins, carved with simple little faces. Aelin grins, remembering when he came over to help her and Eleanora carve their own pumpkins.

Eleanora slips free of Aelin's grasp and runs up the steps when she recognizes the house. Aelin huffs a laugh at her daughter's excitement before following her up the steps.

Rowan opens the door after many, very impatient rings from Eleanora. He's wearing a dark green shirt and simple black pants. His outfit isn't anything she isn't used to seeing him in, but what catches her eye is the big letter M on his shirt. If Aelin were to look down at her own blue shirt, she would see the exact same thing. Aelin didn't really have time to find a good costume at the last minute, so she improvised by stitching the letter to her shirt, and calling it good. A smile bloomed on her face at their coincidental matching costumes.

Rowan's gaze travels from Eleanora to her, his eyes sparkling with laughter when he notices her costume.

"Trick-or-treat!" Eleanora says excitedly, holding her pumpkin basket out for Rowan expectantly. Rowan chuckles, placing a few pieces of candy in her basket.

"Wow!" He grins down at her, tipping her hat back playfully. "Great costume, Ella."

"Thanks!" Eleanora spins around so he can see her full outfit. Not missing a single beat, she stops and points at Aelin's shirt. "Mom issa m an m!" She says, turning back around and gesturing to Rowan's matching shirt. "Just like you, Rowan!"

Rowan's eyes travel over her form before quickly darting back up to her face. Aelin smirks at his perusal and a slight flush tints his cheeks, getting caught checking her out.

He clears his throat and smiles back down at Eleanora. "I think your mom definitely wears it better," he says.

Aelin definitely disagrees. His short-sleeve shirt hugs his form perfectly and shows off the tattoos on his forearm. She's seen parts of it many times, but never the full thing. She wonders what his full tattoos look like. What do they mean? Do they stop at his arm? Do they stretch across his shoulder? Are they on his chest too?

Eleanora pokes Aelin's leg, getting her attention. "Momma," she says, her bright blue eyes looking up at her. "You say when someone gives us a compliment, we say thank you."

Aelin opens her mouth and closes it again. Her daughter is extremely perceptive. Of course Eleanora would notice her blatantly staring at Rowan. She realizes she hasn't said a word since arriving at his door.

"Thank you, Rowan," Aelin rushes out.

His eyes sparkle with humor and something else she can't quite place. Now look who's checking out who, they seemed to say.

Aelin sends him a half hearted glare. Shut up.

Eleanora looks between the two adults, oblivious to their silent conversation.

"Well," Aelin breaks the silence. "We should probably get going. Lots of houses to hit, you know." She places her hands on Eleanora's shoulders, leading her down the porch steps.

"Actually uh," Rowan stops them. He lifts up an empty plastic bowl. "I'm all out of candy. Mind if I join you guys?"

Before Aelin has the chance to reply, Eleanora beats her to it.

"Yes!" She squeals, running back up the stairs and practically glueing herself to him. Her arms wrap tightly around his waist, making Rowan's face break out into a wide smile.

Rowan looks to Aelin for confirmation. She shrugs. "She's the boss around here," Aelin gestures to her daughter who is looking up at Rowan like he hung the moon in the sky.

"You can come trick-or-treating with us, Rowan!" Eleanora shows off her tiny teeth in a huge grin.

Rowan steps back inside, grabbing a coat and flicking a switch to turn off the porch lights before stepping back outside and locking the door behind him. Eleanora eagerly leads them down the steps and onto the sidewalk to begin their "walk" again. Or in Ella's case, running from house to house.

With her daughter skipping happily in front of them, Aelin and Rowan fall behind and watch Eleanora in companionable silence.

It was a perfect night, if not just a little chilly. The trees were all vibrant shades of oranges and reds and leaves were scattered over the pavement. The evening air was cool enough that Aelin's breath clouded in front of her as they walked. A breeze swept by, causing her to shiver and wrap her arms around herself. Eleanora was so eager to leave that Aelin didn't have time to find one of her thicker jackets.

Rowan didn't miss a beat, stepping closer and tossing his jacket over her shoulders. He had yet to put it on after they left his house. In fact, he didn't even seem the least bit affected by the chill.

Aelin blushed, looking up at his beautiful green eyes. "Thank you, Rowan," she smiled at him, glancing down at his short sleeve shirt again.

Rowan noticed her questioning look and cast her a smile that warmed her more than any jacket could. "I don't get cold very often," he explained, "I just saw you shivering earlier."

Aelin looked up at him then. "Rowan Whitethorn," she drew out his name. "Such fine manners you have."

Rowan just smirked at her. "Well, we wouldn't want such a gorgeous woman to freeze to death, now would we?"

Honestly, sometimes it felt as if this man was reading off a script. He always knew how to say the right things at the right time. And it didn't help that something about Rowan just made her nervous. He made her forget words all together.

Aelin never knew what to say to him when he said things like that, so she just walked a little closer, tucking herself into his warmth. Rowan's arm came up and fell over her shoulders, tucking her into his side.

Eleanora comes running up to them from the front steps of a well decorated house. "Look!" She says excitedly, "Mr. Allsbrook gave me two pink Laffy Taffy!" Their neighbor Murtaugh Allsbrook is a nice older man who has lived in the house across the street for as long as Aelin could remember.

She remembers going to school with his grandson Ren when they were young. Her, Aedion, and Ren would often stir up trouble, probably giving Murtaugh and her parents enough gray hairs to last a lifetime.

Aelin waves to Murtaugh as they start to make their way back home. With her basket now full of candy, Eleanora is content to slow down and walk with Rowan and Aelin.

Her daughter wraps her free hand around her mother's and reaches her other hand to Rowan. Her blue eyes look up at him expectantly as she reaches her hand toward him.

Rowan quickly understands the toddler's predicament. "Want me to hold that for you?" He asks, nodding towards her candy basket.

Eleanora shoots him a suspicious look, but hands him the basket so she can free her hand. "Just don't eat any," she warns.

Rowan chuckles, placing the basket in one hand and holding hers in his other.

"Don't worry, Ella. He won't eat your candy. Rowan doesn't like sweets," Aelin chimes in, remembering the absolutely horrifying conversation her and Rowan had recently. He confessed he didn't like chocolate or any kind of sweets, and Aelin had told him they could no longer be friends. Apparently Rowan didn't think she was serious.

She will change his mind about that one day. She's sure of it.

Eleanora gasps, looking appalled at this new information. "No sweets?" She asks, as if it's somehow unbelievable.

Rowan smiles, swinging their hands back and forth. "Nope. I don't like sweets."

Eleanora glares at him. "We can't be friends anymore, Rowan."

Aelin bursts out into laughter at Rowan's shocked expression. He's looking between her and Eleanora in an over exaggerated display of sadness. Her daughter is still glaring daggers at him.

"Wow," he says to Aelin. "Wonder who she gets that from."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Aelin replies, looking away from him, but failing to hide her smile.

As they approach their house, Eleanora skips down the sidewalk, swinging Rowan's and her mother's hands with both of her own.

They walk up the steps in front of their house, Eleanora squealing as the adults lift her hands so that she jumps up each step. Her daughter giggles the entire way as they make their way to the front door.

Aelin pulls the keys out of her pocket and unlocks the door. Eleanora slips free of Rowan and Aelins hands as soon as the door is open and bolts inside, running to the table and dumping her candy on its surface, leaving the adults in the entryway.

"You can stay and watch a movie with us, or just hang out if you'd like," Aelin says, inviting Rowan in.

"Sure, I'll stay for a little while," Rowan smiles.

"Perfect," Aelin replies, shrugging Rowan's jacket off her shoulders. He takes the jacket from her and hangs it on one of the hooks by the door.

Eleanora is sitting at the dining room table, sorting out her candy, for whatever reason her five-year-old brain came up with.

"It's getting late, Ella," Aelin tells her daughter. "Why don't you go put your pajamas on and I'll put your candy in a safe place for you, okay?"

"Okay!" Eleanora jumps down from her chair, earning a stern look from her mother. "Just don't eat any," she warns for the second time that night, oblivious to the fact that she just jumped off a piece of furniture right in front of her mothers eyes–something she's gotten into trouble for on many occasions.

Aelin raises her eyebrows and she hears Rowan chuckle behind her. "Maybe I will eat some of your candy, Ella," she calls after her daughter as she bolts down the hallway.

Eleanora, apparently in the mood to get into trouble tonight, completely ignores her mother as she turns into her room.

Aelin could've sworn she taught her daughter manners at one point. Apparently her sweet little girl is no more. She blames that kid Hollin.

Aelin turns, seeing Rowan barely containing his smile at the scene that just played out before him.

"I have failed as a mother," Aelin deadpans.

Rowan chuckles, walking towards her. "Don't say that," he says, placing his hands gently on her forearms. "I think you're an amazing mother. She's a great kid," he nods in the direction Eleanora ran off to.

She's had people tell her that before, but hearing it from Rowan is different. The words open a cage of butterflies in her chest, sending warmth throughout her entire body. And for the first time, Aelin doesn't just shrug the words off. Hearing it from him, and seeing the look in his eyes… Aelin thinks she could actually believe them.

Against her will, she feels tears prick at her eyes, threatening to spill. Aelin doesn't know what to say, so she just closes the distance between their bodies and wraps her arms around him, tucking her face into his shoulder.

Rowan doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her. One of his hands comes up to cradle her head as he places a kiss on her hair.

They stay like that for mere minutes, or maybe hours, Aelin didn't know. All she knew was that this felt right. She didn't know what she was to him. Didn't know what this thing between them was or if it would even go anywhere. But she knew that right now, in this moment, she didn't want anything else.

Aelin pulled back slightly to look up at him, only to find him already gazing down at her, a look she couldn't quite decipher on his handsome face.

This close, she couldn't help her eyes from roaming across his face, from glancing down at his lips. Lips that she, admittedly, had thought about on more than one occasion.

"Rowan…" she trails off, words failing her in this intense moment.

Whatever Aelin was going to say is long forgotten as one of Rowan's hands comes up to brush her cheek, his thumb swiping softly across her cheekbone. She didn't know who leaned in first, but Aelin felt her breath hitch as their faces drew impossibly closer.

Their noses brushed, and they were close enough to share a single breath now. All it would take would be one small movement for their lips to find each other. Slowly, so slowly, the distance between them faded away until—

"All ready," Eleanora comes running back down the hallway, having changed into her pajamas.

Rowan sighs, dropping his hands back down to her arms, squeezing them gently. Aelin places her hands on his chest, reluctantly pulling away and taking a step back. They both chuckle softly at Eleanora's perfect timing.

Neither of them could keep the smiles off their faces, though, as they retreated to a friendly distance.

One of Rowan's hands remains, sliding down her arm, until his fingers brush her own. Aelin squeezes his hand once before letting go and turning to her daughter.

"Can I have some of my candy now, mommy?" Eleanora asks, flashing her adorable big blue eyes up at Aelin. Cheater.

"Alright," Aelin sighs. "You can have a few pieces tonight, but I'll expect some awesome tooth brushing from you later." She has a feeling Eleanora wouldn't mind if more of her teeth came out if it meant another visit from the tooth fairy.

Eleanora bounces up to the table, picking out a few pieces of her candy before dumping the rest back into her basket.

Rowan clears his throat from beside her, drawing her attention again. "I should probably head home now. I have to work early in the morning, so…" he trails off.

"Right," Aelin breathes, finding it hard to tear her eyes away from his emerald green ones. "I'll walk you out," she offers.

Rowan nods, following Aelin to the front door.

"Goodbye, Ella," Rowan says to her daughter.

Eleanora sits on one of the dining room chairs, swinging her legs under the table. She doesn't even look up from her candy as she says, "bye, Rowan!"

Rowan smiles as Aelin hands him his jacket off the hook. Their fingers brush momentarily, bringing her back to just minutes earlier.

Rowan tucks the jacket under his arm as he holds the front door open. He pauses for a moment before asking, "are you free this Friday?"

Aelin considers, mentally scanning her calendar. "I should be," she answers. As much as she would love to say yes, she knows that having a toddler, a job, and classes doesn't leave her much free time.

Rowan doesn't miss a beat. "Well if you are, I was thinking I could finally take you out on that date I promised you."

Aelin's grins, stepping a little closer to him. "That would be perfect," she practically whispers.

"Perfect," Rowan echoes. He opens his mouth, as if wanting to say something, before closing it again, apparently deciding against saying more.

Instead, he leans closer, and Aelin wonders if he's actually going to kiss her this time. To her disappointment, however, Rowan decides to press his lips to her cheek instead. Still, the simple action sends warmth blooming across her face. He pulls away after a moment, opening the door wider.

"Goodnight, Rowan," she says as he steps out the door.

He sends her that smile of his that always seems to make her dizzy. "Goodnight, Aelin," he says as he turns and walks down her front steps.

She watches him walk down the pathway and onto the sidewalk until eventually it would just be creepy to keep staring. Sighing, Aelin turns around and closes the door, a smile still on her face.

. . . . . .

"Alright, who will it be tonight?" Aelin asks, sitting on the edge of Eleanora's bed. She holds up two of her daughter's favorite stuffed animals in each hand for her to pick.

Eleanora's face scrunches up in an adorable display of contemplation. "Both," she decides, holding her arms out.

"Alright," Aelin says. She pulls her blanket up higher and tucks both animals in next to her. "Comfy?"

Her daughter nods, hugging her animal friends closer. "Yep!"

Aelin leans forward to press a kiss to Eleanora's wild blond hair before rising from her bed and making her way to the door. "Do you want your light on?" She asks.

"Yes, please," the five year old says from where she's tucked into her bed.

Aelin makes sure to flip the nightlight on as she leaves her daughter's room.

"Goodnight, mommy," Eleanora calls before she can make it all the way out the door.

Aelin smiles. "Goodnight, Ella," she says, stepping out of the room and leaving the door open slightly.

Aelin makes her way down the hallway, flipping off the lights and heading to her own room. Moonlight spills through her curtains, lighting a path towards her bed.

Her phone buzzes from its place on her nightstand as she sits at the edge of her bed, braiding her hair back. Aelin smiles, having an idea of who would be texting her at this hour.

Ever since he stayed for dinner that night several weeks ago, Rowan has started texting her goodnight before she goes to bed. It never fails to make her heart beat a little faster in her chest whenever she sees his message.

Reaching towards her nightstand, she picks up her phone and opens her messages.

Goodnight, Aelin :)

Rowan's message is simple and sweet.

But his words aren't what make her heart skip a beat in her chest.

Her smile falls as she reads on. Below Rowan's message is another that was sent just minutes before his.

The number isn't one she has assigned a contact, but she knows who it's from almost immediately. Aelin reads the text over and over until the words are burned into her brain.

I want to see my daughter.

. . . . . .

That night, Aelin doesn't sleep. She makes her way back into Eleanora's room, where her daughter is sound asleep.

Aelin sinks down onto the small mattress next to Eleanora's sleeping form amongst the many pillows and stuffed animals and pulls her small body close to her.

All night Aelin lays there, her daughter tucked into her side where she could protect her from all the pain this world has to offer.

Her daughter is her love, her home, her reason for living. She'd be damned if she let him take this from her too.

. . . . . .

Well.... I did say angst didn’t I? Lol.

Anyways

Tag List:

This is a general tag list I found in my docs. I don't know how old it is or anything but his is just what I have. There were a whole bunch of blogs that wouldn’t tag, so I removed them. I’m aware some people’s tags may have fallen into the void, never to be seen again. I think like half of the original tag list is just gone. So, if you would like to be tagged, please let me know and I will add you. And if you would like to be removed, just ask. No hard feelings :)

@swankii-art-teacher 

@perseusannabeth 

@laraexia 

@sleeping-and-books 

@mu-si-ca-l 

@superspiritfestival

@booksofthemoon 

@danibutterr 

@tswaney17 

@live-the-fangirl-life 

@rowaelinismyotp 

@charlizeed 

@courtofjurdan 

@rowansfirebringer 

@infernoqueen19 

@slytheringalathynius

@story-scribbler

@themoonthestarsthesuriel

@hellasblessed​

---

[god1ngs]

━‎ second chance

synopsis; dream offers you a deal

contains; manipulation, fighting, war, guilt tripping, death threats

prolouge + 2.1k wc

note; wow this was really long, but i hope you enjoy the prologue of seven days! also i'm changing the update schedule to every wednesday because im impatient lmao

seven days masterlist ; masterlist ; next part

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎everyone was fighting. there was no time to think as people charged into battle, screaming echoing off trees and shaking the leaves. the war went on, the violence unceasing between the dream smp and l'manberg. this was the worst possible outcome.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you never liked war, even if you were known for starting chaos, this wasn't the type of chaos you wanted nor needed. l'manberg was still fragile, still in a new and weakened state, having not been built too long ago. war would only tear it down.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎before you joined l'manberg, you and dream were close. really close. the two of you could be seen everywhere and, without a doubt, were two of the closest people on the server. and yet the two of you had drifted apart before everyone else.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it started when dream became more power hungry, demanding l'manberg to be tore down simply for his own tyrannical reasons. you noticed, the change in his attitude evident, yet didn't say anything. it didn't stop dream from lashing out at you and even exiling you though.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it was too late however, even by then. you were already too entangled with dream, and he knew it.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you hadn't spoke to dream since your exile. you stayed in the walls of l'manberg, usually only speaking to wilbur or tommy. you were more lonely. dream was, in a sense, all you had. he was the one person you talked to and the one who seemed to care about you.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎sure, you spoke to george and sapnap, but they weren't dream. dream was the one you favored, despite saying you liked them all equally. that was clear, no matter how much you insisted you didn't.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it was even more clear when dream began speaking.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎dream, sapnap, and george stood outside the towering walls of l'manberg. they had tnt and weapons that were far greater than your own. they were intimidating, exactly as they had planned. they stopped the violence for a moment, pausing when dream raised a hand up.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"i want to speak to [name]."

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it was as if time had stopped. you were stood behind wilbur, but the only person you could see was dream. an arm was placed in front of you, wilbur's, and he said something. but you weren't listening, too caught up in the way dream was staring at you.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎was he staring at you? you couldn't tell with his mask on.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you came back to your senses, looking up at wilbur. you had always been one of the loud ones of l'manberg, but you stayed quiet as he talked to dream. you heard your name amongst his words, but couldn't decipher what he was saying.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎then it happened.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎within seconds everything was gone. ash scattered across the once green grass and smoke rising in the air. it happened all so quickly. you had ash in your hair and there were bits of stone and wood laying around. you all ran to the caravan, trying not to get caught in any more flying debris.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎glass crunched beneath your feet as you walked in the caravan. part of it was gone and the glass panes had been broken. it was evident how much destruction had been done by dream. so why were you still thinking about him?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you hadn't noticed, but your ears were ringing. you were lightheaded and there was blood on your once clean uniform. "i consider this a win." wilbur said, ever so confident. it was refreshing to see his confidence still in tact. it reminded you of dream.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you stood beside the caravan now, the destruction of your home creating a sinking feelinf in your chest. however, it was gone once wilbur stood on top of the vehicle. he wrote the declaration of independence, the giggles from you and your comrades filling the air.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it was a change of heart from the war that ended only minutes ago.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎afterwards, you all got patched up. wilbur had been bandaging your hand, having got shards of class from the windows of the caravan stuck in it, when he suddenly sighed. "[name]." he said firmly, looking at you. had you done something?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"did you hear what dream said today?"

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it was all a blur, the loud sounds of war and your own thoughts had drowned out the sound of anything else. "no? what did he say?" you asked, something arising in your chest. you couldn't tell what it was, but there was a familiar sense of giddiness. you were giddy to know what dream had said, willing to be hooked on every syllable coming from him.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎he only shook his head, wrapping your hand. "nothing. just something about how he wanted to talk to you." he answered, not noticing the way you got somewhat upset. you hummed, nodding your head before he turned to the night sky. it was late, much later than you were supposed to be up.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎everyone else had already been asleep, having been nursed hours ago, but you had only just noticed the shards of glass in your hand. you didn't know how the pain had left you unaffected, but dream had always told you how strong you were.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"you should go to bed," wilbur murmured after a moment of silence. "it's late and we have things to do tomorrow." you nodded quietly, unaware of the tired look on the mans face. you bid your goodnights, and with that, you went back to your home.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you had been trying to go to sleep for hours. you couldn't seem to stay still enough to go to sleep. perhaps you still had energy from earlier. you sat up, frowning as you glanced out of your window. the grass, once lush and green, was now tainted with the aftermath of war.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎maybe a walk would help.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you got a knife, a simple form of protection in case anyone tried to attack you. you walked out of your house, careful to be quiet to not wake any of the others. you hoped you were the only one having sleeping problems.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you found yourself wandering out of the walls of l'manberg, sitting beside a lake. it was peaceful, the gentle glow of the moonlight reflecting off the water. it was silent, the crickets and the sway of the leaves being the only noise around.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎or so you thought.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you hadn't even heard anyone come behind you. you were alone, weren't you? it appears not. "i haven't seen you in a while." his voice cut through the peaceful atmosphere, bringing dread and longing all at once.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you turned to look back at dream, the smile mask haunting and causing you a sense of peace at the same time. your mouth ran dry, eyes wide as you looked up at him. this was the first time you two have talked in months.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you nodded in agreement to his words, wondering if you should be scared or excited of the man. you wanted to feel nervousness, to be put off by his sudden appearance, but all that came was the relief of finally being able to talk to him.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"not talking, huh? do you even miss me?" he asked, taking a seat beside you. you panicked, frantically trying to tell him that you had missed him, but he only laughed in your face. "calm down," he teased, the grin in his voice calming you down. "you always overreact at every little thing."

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you apologized sheepishly, embarrassment tickling you. he sighed, leaning back on his palms as he stared at the moonlight. was he relaxed? "you know, i tried to talk to you earlier. in front if l'manberg. did you not hear me?" he turned to look at you, tilting his had quizzically.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you shook your head, rubbing at your arm. "no, i didn't. i'm sorry. it was really loud then." you explained, being comforted as he put a hand on yours. "it's alright. just make sure you listen for me next time okay?" his grip got tighter at his words, a passive aggressiveness punctuating them.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you nodded quietly, his iron grip alleviating at your movement. silence washed over you two again, your mouth opening and closing at the words you wanted to say but didn't know how to. it changed once he pulled you closer to him.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"do you know why i exiled you, [name]?" he asked. you were confused, brows furrowing as you shook your head. "no .. why did you exile me, dream?" you asked, hesitant but willing to get the answer. he hadn't told you what he had exiled you for, having only told you he was done with you and to get out of his sight.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎his hand left yours, instead resting on your chin and tilting your head to look up at him. he was much more intimidating with the moonlight shining behind him, yet looked like an angel all the same. once more, his grip tightened on your chin. you winced, knowing there would be a mark there.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"you threatened my power. you were the one thing holding me back from doing what's necessary. exiling you was the only way i could make sure you wouldn't get in my way," dream seethed, snarling beneath his mask. he snatched your face closer to his, your eyes wide with confusion and fear. "but you're threatening my control again."

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎he let you go, you grabbing your chin out of pain and stammering at him. he reached for his sword, bringing it out of its sheath and pointing it at you. you were vulnerable, only having a knife that you couldn't possibly reach for with him keeping his eyes on you, not without risking your safety.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"killing you in the only way i can make sure you don't hold me back anymore."

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎he raised his sword, and your life flashed before your eyes. you begged. you pleaded for mercy, tears welling in your eyes and your hands covering your head. "please dream!" you sobbed, sniffling as you begged him to spare your life. "i won't get in your way anymore, i swear! i'm sorry!"

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎your life should have been over with, but he stopped. he tilted his head down at you, his sword still pointing at your chest. you whimpered, tears streaming down your face. you couldn't even feel the embarrassment of it with all the fear weighing you down.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎he weighed his options, thinking for a moment. unbeknown to you, he grinned beneath his mask. he would play with you for a little while longer. "alright." he said, amusement coating his tone. he tilted your chin up with the end of his sword, the blade nearly caressing your neck. it scared you, how easily dream would be able to kill you.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎dream almosted pitied how pathetic you were.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"i'll give you seven days. a week for you to say goodbye to everyone, and when those seven days are over, you come right here, at this time, and you get to convince me to either spare your life a second time or i kill you. understand?"

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎the joy in his voice, the raw delight, terrified you. you nodded frantically, not passing up on a chance to have your life spared. your mind was already racing with thoughts to convince him to spare your life.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"if you try to go against me in any way possible within this week, i'll kill you in front of your friends instead. do we have a deal?" he put his sword away, putting his hand out towards you. you hesitated, terrified to touch him. yet he only insisted, shakily shaking his hand.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎he snatched you towards him again, his tight grip on your hand making it ache. you swallowed with nervousness, catching a glimpse of his wide grin underneath his mask. all the more reason to be terrified of dream.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"don't disappoint me."

taglist,

━‎ ‎ ‎@paradigmax ; @pachowpachowbucket ; @acatstalkingyou ; @angelicaschuyler-church ; @saucey-kneecapzz42020 ; @piano-boo ; @i-need-hugs ; @strawbrinkofdeath ; @halloweenpoison13

[sleepy-stories]

Students were out with their businesses. Not in theirs and never in the other groups. However, the school was ruled by two groups. And no one tried to change that. The teacher knew. The students knew. And even the principal. 

Before that, the school had groups like the Looney tunes or the Disney crew. It was brand new in the past to the public but they finally knew the name of Toon High, where famous toons study and learn. They learn it through a student that graduates and becomes big. That legendary student was Felix the cat and followed after that. 

Going to toon high to graduate and become big, but it started to become a rumor that students can study and become big afterward. However, they weren’t working hard to do it. 

Felix in interviews told that she worked hard through it naturally and that the school wasn’t magical to put that in your head and the abilities. 

This brought back their positive reputation of becoming big in the school, however, the rumor stayed for those who still believe it. 

Many students went, including Roxy, Foxy, Bosko, and Honey, and many of the sophomore students at the time, where the first group came to be, the Our Gang group. But they were known in the school, just not as big to be known to the public. 

They tried hard to get their name known inside and likely out. It worked but failed miserably.

The group didn’t last.

Because of that Group, Porky got to make a name for herself without the group. She was known by everyone as the girl that stuttered and acted similarly to others. 

Porky met Daffy and soon Bugs in Lunch during the sophomore year not so long after the downfall of the previous group. They met more but Toon High couldn’t keep them together, so they would meet up in a drama club where they came across their rival group. They were big already before and after Our Gang made it and failed to grow. 

“Why are you even telling the story to Roger, Porky?” Daffy said with a lisp. She crossed her arms. Daffy still couldn’t trust her. Roger seems too nice and too similar to how Mickey or even Goofy behaves. It was painful to her.

“Because Roger is still fresh with the s-sc-school, besides she already met the others,” Porky reminded her stubborn friend. 

Daffy huffed. She turned away and walked off somewhere. Bugs watched then brought back her attention to Roger. “Please continue it, Porky.” she precedes from the paused conversation.

“Well, in summary, we met the other group in the drama club, and I and a few other members from the group didn’t know why Daffy and Bugs kept staring back at them. However, they ended up telling us the reason.” Porky stutters. 

“And the reason was?” Roger asked, her curiosity growing from hidden messages. 

“That the two cause hurt towards one of the members from the other group through romance. But the group has already grown to be an enemy from just copying them earlier.” Porky felt uncomfortable about revealing this but continued with the answer. She kept looking over at bugs, whose expression was very off. 

Her eyes stared and kept a friendly look but Roger could feel an uncomfortable vibe from her.

The bell rang and the teacher walked in ready to start class. Daffy, Bugs, and Porky walked to their seats and took it. 

The ending of the conversation did not make the redhead feel satisfied. She wanted to learn more. 

“They start with copycatting others but still something else seems like a painful betrayal with the relationship.” she thought.

[serenityseventeen]

Love & Letter: To The Thirteen Boys I've Loved Before

The Second Letter

----------------

To: Yoon Jeonghan

From: Y/N

Dear Jeonghan,

I hope everything's going well with you, wherever you are. I'm writing you a letter without knowing where you are so even if I did ever decide to send this letter, I wouldn't know where to mail it.

Are you doing well? Why don't you call me? Contact me somehow? Why don't you say something to me? Don't you have anything you want to say to me? Oh right, you don't have my number. I don't know any of your social media accounts and you don't know any of mine. I can search on Facebook for you, through a thousand different “Yoon Jeonghan” profiles, but what would be the point?

Actually, I'm angry with you. I'm really angry and I'm a bit heartbroken too because you just took my heart and left.

Why didn't you tell me beforehand?

I waited for you to return. I spent the rest of my freshman year waiting and I even waited through my summer break, hoping that maybe you'd come back or send a letter. School starts in a month and you still aren't here. I don't know what I feel toward you anymore because you're gone. Do I love you since I'm angry at you like this?

From the first day we met, I could tell we didn't match. I don't even know why you pursued me. You joined the basketball team and whenever you had games, you wanted me to come to watch. I didn't know why so I refused the first few games.

We had many classes together, you know that. Did you use the advantage of being in the same classes as me to try to get to know me? What were your intentions when you asked me if I had lunch? Why did you always ask my friends if I was eating well?

I have so many questions I'm dying to ask now that you're gone. One day you were laughing, joking with me while I watched you practice basketball and the next day you suddenly disappeared. One day of absence turned into months, then half a year. I didn't want to ask but I was dying to know.

Then, the answer finally came.

You moved?

Why didn't you tell me anything?

I thought we were developing something special, was that only me? I thought that you liked me, that's why you did so many things to me, making my heart race and pound. Am I wrong?

If I am wrong, why did you do it?

Maybe I'm completely getting the wrong idea and the sudden move wasn't your fault. I bet that it wasn't your fault. I'm just angry that you didn't inform me. Not everyone moves houses in one day, it takes a lot of planning, doesn't it?

Now I'm just left here, confused.

Now I'm just left here, reminiscing about my second love that disappeared. I'm still remembering the first day we met when you bumped into me at the stairs and held me to keep me from falling backward.

Jeonghan, just, where did you go?

I know this message will never reach you anyway, anyhow, so I'll tell you this much.

Because of you, I changed. Hanging out around a mischievous guy like you made me pick up your habits. Before I knew it, I was playing small pranks on my dad and enjoying it, just like when you and I teamed up to prank the gym teacher into thinking that he had sat on a freshly painted bench. I can still remember how long I laughed because of it.

I still have the pen that you forgot when you were here to study with me. My father constantly asks me where you are and I always reply that I don't know because I don't know.

You came by twice every week for three months because you wanted me to tutor you. I don't know if I became a sheep to you but even though I knew you were gifted intelligent, I tutored you anyway. Jeonghan, you were one of those people who didn't need to study to ace a test. Even your methods of trickery are intelligent.

So as I reminisce, I also wonder why you would do something like that if you didn't like me. You were the one who told me that all men act like this, wanting to be around someone, making up excuses to stay close, and doing things they won't normally do if they like someone. Was that all a trick, Jeonghan?

Not only did you study with me but you studied the times that my dad was gone and came by when he wasn't here. You were respectful toward my dad and kind too, so I wondered how you could have such a naughty nature but at the same time be so caring.

It was one of those days when my dad went to work that you came over. Look, I was so confused that's why I kept stuttering. I knew that you weren't supposed to be at my house at that time of night so we stayed on the porch, gazing at the fallen sky. What were you thinking about? You stared for a long time and didn't say a word. It was the middle of winter too and you came by with your hands tucked in your puffy black jacket with your nose cutely red. You remember this night, don't you? If you don't, I'd go even more nuts than I did.

Why did you kiss me that night?

I mean, we weren't even talking, just gazing at the sky where stars were barely visible. Then all of a sudden, you said, “Look at me.”

I turned to you and then all of a sudden, you kissed me. I honestly didn't expect to get a kiss this early in my life and for it to be from you, the second love who disappeared, I can't be any more disappointed.

Jeonghan, the thief.

Your lips were cold at first but then they grew warm. I'm also sorry if I didn't know how to kiss. I just went with the flow and followed the way your thin lips moved against mine. Your hand also touched my neck as you kissed me, I could still feel the warmth of it lingering on my skin.

After you left that night after kissing me quietly, making my heart burn in the cold night, you stroked my hair. I ran inside my room and rolled on my bed, wanting to scream on my bedsheets because my lips have finally been pressed against another man. A boy that I liked at that.

How about you?

Do you think about that night at all?

It was about two days before you moved away.

Strangely, the next days, you continued to talk to me as if you didn't kiss me the days before. I was confused but since I was naive, I just believed that's how it went for everybody.

Also, because of that kiss, I began to notice your gaze. Maybe I could have noticed something in those two days before your departure. I just remember seeing you gazing at me with different eyes. I want to believe that you had fallen for me, but because of you, I'm being delusional like this.

The only way to know is when you finally decide to speak it true somewhere and it reaches me.

In this letter to you, I just can't help expressing the emotions I'm feeling. I have nowhere else to rant and I need you to know about my feelings though you'll never receive this letter.

Gosh, writing this letter makes me remember the weekend that you took me biking on a couple bicycle. Why did you ask me to go with you when you were leaving the next day? It's not like you at all. Knowing you for those short six months, you would have just told me with a pitiful face, “I'm going to move.”

Instead, you kissed me and decided to take me biking. I can still remember that grin on your face when you came to my house and said, “Hop on, Y/N.”

The wind that hit my face that day was amazing and my heart was racing just to have my hands around your waist.

Because of you, I became rebellious for the first time. I never disobeyed my father. He told me to go buy groceries that day and I went on a bike ride with you, enjoying the chilly winter breeze and ditching groceries. When we arrived at the basketball court, I watched and played a bit of basketball with you. Do you know what that means, Jeonghan?

Were you aware this whole time of my feelings? I know you can read other people's expressions well.

I can't understand you, Jeonghan. I don't think I ever will unless you come back and tell me.

I won't believe what any of your friends say even if it's the only source I have. ‘You moved away because a different high school was giving you bigger opportunities’, how am I supposed to believe that? In the middle of the school year?

Now, all I can do is sigh.

I won't wait for you anymore. That's why I'm just going to leave it. I loved you. Now, you're just one of the boys I've loved. I'm not going to spend the rest of my summer waiting to find a needle in a haystack.

I'll remember how I loved you. I'll remember how you changed me. I'll remember how loving you changed me.

I'll wonder sometimes about what we could have been if you didn't leave. If you didn't leave, I think I would have still been in love with you. Now, I'm pretty sure I would still be in love with you, at least for a little longer.

Please, send me a letter.

I know the chances are low.

I'm still angry at you for not telling me. If you did like me and think you did it for our own good, you're wrong. At least I wouldn't have had to wait and worry for the weeks that you disappeared that your life's clock stopped ticking. If you did tell me beforehand, I would have known that you'd be fine and that you were just moving away.

Did you have no faith in us?

Or did you really find a better opportunity in a better high school somewhere far away?

I'm still angry.

Is this what you call ‘the one that got away’?

Anyway, I don't love you now, but if you come back, I might again. I can't make up my mind.

I miss you, Jeonghan.

Sincerely,

Y/N

-------------------

© serenityseventeen

6/18/21 - 9:51 pm

a/n: SEVENTEEN back on Instagram?? Seungcheol, Minghao, Vernon, Joshua, and Seungkwan posted today/yesterday. I didn't even notice WOOZI changed his profile picture. Also, I find Seungkwan and Seungcheol so funny...

SC: you are my escape

SK: you are my s.coups

But yay? Seventeen is back on Instagram!

[606writings]

SC: When it all started [Tamaki]

A/N: Hi! I’ve been wanting to write something like this for Tamaki for a long time, but I was not sure since I have a couple requests in line and I feel bad leaving them for later, but I noticed I’ve been writing for the RFA a lot lately, so I want to write for other characters first. The requests and other posts of the RFA will come back soon, promise! Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this!💜

Genre: Fluff.

Word count: 1,486.

Tamaki wasn’t sure when it all started.

When was the first time I felt like this?

He wondered, looking at the cheerful and bright girl walking through the halls of their school, chatting with her friend about the nice weekend they had.

Her face was slightly flushed due to all the laughter and excitement from her conversation. Her eyes closed as a smile crossed her face when she noticed Tamaki’s presence a few meters away, staring at her.

He hurriedly looked away, trying to hide how much he enjoyed just admiring her doing something so trivial but so beautiful like smiling and talking.

Maybe it started the first time she smiled at me, though I’m pretty sure it was just because she was trying to be nice… The shy boy kept trying to recall when the butterflies in his stomach appeared for the first time.

The first time she smiled at Tamaki was when their class organized an outing to the cinema. Of course, Tamaki wasn’t even considering attending, but Mirio and Nejire dragged him without allowing him to even protest.

Maybe it was because he got to see the cheerful and beautiful girl with casual clothes instead of her school uniform, but he thought it wouldn’t be so bad to spend time with other people.

That time, he remembered, she was wearing a beautiful yellow dress that fell just a little bit under her knees. It made her look like the sun, as if she was just as bright and warm, and Tamaki couldn’t help being attracted to that light coming from her.

At first, he thought he admired her just as he admired Mirio. But when he noticed he couldn’t stop looking at her and wishing he could grab her hand; he knew it had to be much more than just admiration.

A beautiful voice brought him back to present, instantly attracting all his attention back to her as she spoke with a trembling voice:

“N—No! I hate the darkness! I vote No for camping!”

The group of friends around her accepted her excuse as they continued searching for something to do the next weekend. However, her words were still being recalled in Tamaki’s mind over and over, as he remembered when the class had to go camping for training during summer vacations.

Could it have started back then?

It was during the first night of camping that the whole class had to split up into couples and go through various obstacles hidden in the dark and quiet forest. For some reason, Mirio decided to pair Tamaki up with a certain girl, being perfectly aware of the situation he was getting his friend into.

Tamaki couldn’t help being extremely nervous just by walking beside her, his mind was too busy being self-aware that he paid no attention to the scary noises and the obstacles in their way. Meanwhile the girl was struggling to keep a serious face, as her hands wouldn’t stop trembling at her sides.

The instant he noticed it, suddenly all his worries disappeared as protecting and comforting the girl became his top priority.

“A—Are you scared?” He quietly asked, shyly looking at her.

The girl gulped and nodded slowly, not sure where her voice went to.

Tamaki was surprised, he had never seen the girl afraid of something, she was always so brave and bright that she inspired him to become a better hero.

“I’m afraid of a lot of things.” The girl suddenly spoke, as if she could read the boy’s thoughts. “I always try hide it, but I guess I can’t fool you.” She forced a smile.

Tamaki stayed silent for a few seconds, just staring at her and memorizing every single detail about her expression. He admired her but he liked a lot this side of her, a more human, fragile and real one.

“It’s fine… Y—You don’t need to pretend, this time I will be the one protecting you, okay?”

The girl, a little amazed but grateful, nodded and stared at Tamaki before stepping a bit closer to him and said:

“Let’s walk together!”

He tried to hide the smile appearing on his lips, as he remembered her words, now coming back to reality.

“Hey, Tama! Are you coming this weekend with us?”

The black-haired boy looked up at the girl calling him a few meters away. A light flush on his cheeks almost gave him away about how excited he was to spend time out of the school with her.

“I t—think so…” He replied almost like a whisper, before he nodded when he noticed she was too far away to hear him.

She smiled widely satisfied with the response she got from him, and went back to the conversation with her friends.

She’s the only one that calls me “Tama”… When did she start calling me like that…?

“Tama”, the name she started calling him when they first studied together. An important test was just around the corner and the girl was worried sick about failing it, she was desperate to find someone to help her study.

“Mmm, Tamaki is pretty good with that subject, he could easily help you. Right, Mirio?”

Nejire showed a big grin, not even trying to hide the fact that she perfectly knew what she was doing compromising her friend with the girl he wouldn’t stop looking at. Mirio wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation, he was busy reading a magazine, but when he looked up it was enough for him to see Tamaki blushing intensely to grasp the situation.

“Of course!” He answered, still not sure what Nejire had said but knowing he had to agree.

And just like that, out of nowhere, Tamaki and the girl started spending lots of time together with the excuse of helping her to study. They both started growing closer and closer, although he was still pretty anxious being around the girl he liked.

I already liked her back then?

He interrupted himself, realizing the important detail that he had already fell for her at that time.

Tamaki flushed at how easily he admitted to himself his feelings, showing how used he got to think about it. Just as he was about to cover his face with his hands to hide the blush, a cold hand was already pressing against his left cheek.

“Do you have a fever?” A quiet but recognizable whisper surprised him.

The girl was just a few inches away from his face with a worried look on his face. Tamaki stepped back flustered for a moment.

“N—No! I’m okay…!”

“Sorry, I scared you.” She laughed and relaxed her expression.

“It’s my fault, I was not paying attention…” Tamaki murmured, with his eyes going back and forth between hers and the floor, not resisting the temptation of staring at her bright eyes.

She tilted her head lightly and asked with curiosity:

“What were you thinking about? You’ve been distracted the whole day.”

He pursed his lips, ashamed to answer but not wanting to lie.

“I—I was just trying to remember… Trying to remember when did I start feeling like this” He shyly asked, staring at the floor. “When I started to like you.”

He felt the girl sigh, her breath reaching his skin and caressing it softly.

“Mmm, our first date, maybe?” She guessed.

Tamaki left a small laughter come out of his lips.

“I wouldn’t have asked you out on a date if I hadn’t liked you before that, b—bunny.”

Y/N couldn’t help but laugh with him, still amused at how her boyfriend came up with that cute name.

“You? Ask me on a date? It was Mirio who had to set us up because you never confessed me your feelings!” She protested, pouting. “I knew you liked me back then but I wanted you to take the first step.”

Tamaki blushed once again –something not surprising in him-, processing her girlfriend’s words.

“You knew…?”

“Of course, everyone knew! You think I didn’t notice every time Mirio and Nejire planned something to get us together? They were pretty obvious.”

The black-haired boy whimpered and covered his face ashamed.

“But I was pretty obvious too! I always looked for an excuse so they could pair me up with you.” Y/N laughed unashamed, in contrast with her boyfriend’s reaction.

He peeked through his fingers to stare at her as she spoke, caught off guard at her sudden confession.

“You mean y—you liked me too back then…?”

“Mmm, I’m not sure.” She said with a thoughtful look, before smiling. “Maybe I’ve loved you since we first met.”

Tamaki was taken aback by her words. The previous question that was roaming around his mind disappeared, making things a bit clearer for him.

She’s right, maybe I’ve always liked her. I’ve loved her from the beginning.

He smiled, accepting gladly the answer she gave him.

[jessehart]

pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

WHERE: on some dorm roof he shouldn’t be on. WHEN: several days after the dorm party. WHAT: a prelude to the family task. TLDR: jesse’s parents suck and jesse has healthy coping mechanisms.

The moon stared down from a starless sky, the passage of time marked only by the path it tracked overhead and the once-full bottle of whiskey that was now down to its dregs in his lap. He was... hiding. Skipping an entire week’s worth of classes following the party and claiming flu had been the cowardly move, maybe. Nearly an entire bottle of whiskey had loosened up the reins on his own mind enough to admit that. Only to himself and only in the safety of his own mind. 

And only three sheets to the fuckin’ wind.

But still.

Jesse had always been artfully skilled at getting what he wanted. It tended to be the methods with which he went about it that was the problem. But this time, it seemed he’d succeeded so thoroughly that he could count on one hand (two fingers, more like) just how many people he had in his corner. 

It was as exhausting as it was pathetic to so desperately wish someone would care enough to see that he was a man drowning while also doing everything in his power to prove that he deserved to sink to the bottom. 

A buzzing from his pocket and Jesse’s eyes dragged away from the moon and its haloed light, glancing down at his lap in confusion before he felt it again, tapping his pockets until he realized it was his phone. He readjusted so he could pull it free, a wry scoff from the back of his throat as the contact THE WARDEN lit up his phone screen. It was as though his father could smell blood in the water, could feel the weakness of his offspring thousands of miles away.

“Donovan Hart? The man, the myth, the legend,” Jesse answered brightly, each word a cloaked dagger. “To what do I owe the honor and privilege?”

“Jesse.” His voice was a stark greeting, but he felt the pause. His voice grew tight and Jesse could so clearly picture the pinched look of annoyance coated in disapproval etched into his features. “Are you drunk?”

“Are you drunk?” Jesse shot back, laughing at his own insolence. “I know your birthday card got lost in the mail, but I am old enough to legally drink as of a few weeks ago.”

A sigh with teeth. “Don’t be cute, Jesse.”

“Impossible.”

His dad let out an exasperated huff and inwardly, Jesse flinched. Years of conditioning did that to a person. “Jesse, I don’t have time for your bullshit tonight. Care to explain to me why you were questioned by the police?”

Jesse rolled his eyes so hard he was sure his father heard it all the way in California. “Well, I guess you know better than I do that Francesca doesn’t know how to keep her mouth closed.”

“Jesse, for fuck sake!” His father’s voice boomed on the other end of the line and this time, the flinch found its way onto his face. For just a blink and then it was gone. “This is serious! And I had to fucking hear about it secondhand through Francesca?”

Jesse hoped his silence implied that this reaction was maybe exactly why Jesse hadn’t told him, but continued, “It’s not serious. They questioned everyone.” A lie, especially if they decided to follow the yellow brick road Nate had so helpfully paved for them. That one was on Jesse, but seriously, fuck Nate Shaw.

When his father spoke again, his voice was lethally calm. Each enunciated word spoken through clenched teeth. “It better not be serious. I already told you, you’re all out of chances, boy. The book will be coming out in a month and if you fuck this up for me--”

“Yeah, I heard you the first time, loud and clear.”

“Don’t get smart with me, Jesse.” His name sounded like it tasted bitter in his father’s mouth, like he couldn’t rid himself of it fast enough. “I have had it. You’re all out of chances.”

“Alright, I got it.” It sounded almost petulant, reminiscent of a childhood he had no desire to revisit. But the line was already dead.

He held the phone there to his ear for a moment before pulling it back to stare at the screen for confirmation he didn’t need. He gripped the bottle by the neck in his free hand, swallowing down a large gulp before wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

He ached for home, for a thing he’d never known to be anything more than a word, but felt the sharpness of its absence all the same. And as though time moved without him being aware of it, he found himself with his finger hovering over his mom’s contact, pressing the phone to his ear as he listened to the first ring, heart thumping a little unevenly in his chest.

It rang four more times before she answered. “Hello?” She sounded confused, distant. “Jesse?”

“Hey,” he said, tension coiling in his chest as he wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve again. “Mom. Yeah, it’s me.”

“Is everything alright, honey?”

He let out a heavy breath, some fractured part of him seeming to fit back together. He hadn’t realized just how badly he’d wanted her to ask him that, how badly he’d wanted his mom, until it was there before him. “Uh.” He ran a had through his hair before he fisted it, tugging as nerves settled in. “Not really, actually. I--”

The sound of glass breaking on the other line cut him short. “Oh shit!” his mother exclaimed, sounding far away again, slurred. “That was the Blanton’s!” A beat of silence and then her laugh filled the speaker. It was joined a moment later by another laugh, this one deeper, and Jesse’s heart sank a little. She was drunk. And she wasn’t alone. Unintelligible conversation passed between them, some shuffling, and then a small gasp, like she’d just remembered. “Oh! Jesse?”

A half-second’s hesitation, then: “Hey.” A small, forced laugh. “Sorry, I think I caught you at a bad time.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay, honey? I love you.”

“Yeah. Love you, too.” 

The silence that followed swallowed him up, far too loud, as the hand clutching his phone fell limply to his side. He didn’t remember standing, only realized that he was. 

His chin tilted back up to the sky, the stars in hiding even as the moon bathed the campus in its pale, silvery light. Something about that was peaceful probably. He polished off the last mouthful of whiskey, keeping his eyes trained skyward.

And then, Jesse unceremoniously tossed his phone right off the roof.

[earthboundscenarios]

♥ High school ♥

sc plot : 4 new students, attractive point of views

wc : 1694

add-on : basically you in my life without the kids from earthbound

Play song while reading for best experience!

Enjoy!

I sighed as I clutched my backpack. Another boring day

Is life always gonna be this boring?

I hopped off the school bus and made my way towards the giant public school with the crowd

" Where do you want me to set this Ms. Mills? " I looked over to my calculus teacher and she pointed towards her front desk. I nodded and got up. Earning a few snickers from the girls in the back.

" Put some pants on, girl. "

Maria said sarcastically.

I laughed.

I was wearing my favorite oversized black sweater on top of my shorts which aren't buttshorts. I hated the girls in the back.

Fucking assholes.

I heard some new students were coming today. I looked over to my best friend Neila , the desk beside mine. She just gave me a shrug and went back to work. I sighed and made my way to the front of the room, feeling some eyes on me, I dropped the work on Ms. Mills' s desk and returned to my desk at the corner of the room, leaning against the wall facing the whole class from the side.

I heard a scoff beside me so I turned. One of my friends named

RJ

had the desk in front of me, and held up his assignment in my face. 95%. I pushed it away and he looked at me with a smug grin. " What'd you get? " He asked with a mix of curiosity and assholism in his voice. I rolled my eyes, smiled, and pulled out my sketchbook. I opened it and looked at my anime sketches trying to ignore RJ laughing before turning back to the side of the room and return talking to his other friend Riley.

After a few minutes , I leant over my desk and tapped on RJ's shoulder. He turned halfway and replied with a half piercing glare in the corner of his eyes. I gasped exaggeratedly which made him turn all the way around facing me with a ' Really? How lame ' look. This time it was my turn to shove something in his face.

My sketchbook.

He grabbed it without actually looking at what was on the page and was about to get up and throw it out into the trash but as he was getting up

" Please RJ, please please please I'm serious just this onceeeee. " I said startling him and after a minute he sighed and mumbled something under his breath and sat back down bringing the sketchbook up near his face so he can actually examine it.

" What the fuck is this? " He looked up at me with the most pissed off look ever.

I grinned devilishly at him and pointed to the page that was being revealed. " You, getting bombed and shot by some mini guns in your favorite game warzone. Like it? " I asked raising my brows like a idiot trying to be funny.

He sighed, face palmed, set my sketchbook back on my desk and turned around pretending I didn't even exist.

Wow thanks, I mouthed and laughed to myself. Neila looked at me with a thumbs up and mouthed, "draw me and garmadon". Which made me nod historically thinking about the movie of her fictional 174 year old husbando from Ninjago.

Suddenly the door was met with a knock which caused some of us to be at ease and started instantly whisper-chatting as this gave us a chance to, while the teacher would go to the door and open it, expecting it to be a kid or a teacher I sighed and relaxed in my chair a little more putting one of my airpods in my ear again and hit play, starting to play my favorite playlist. The teacher did certainly open the door and I was correct.

Or was I

The teacher turned back to us,

" Alright everyone, these are going to be our new students. "

Everyone's attention glided back to the teacher and the door that was slightly opened.

4 kids walked in after a moment or two. 3 boys and 1 girl. They looked completely different then what I had pictured. The 3 guys looked very different compared to each other aswell. One was dressed very nice, another very casual, and one... genie styled...? The girl dressed very pretty though. Definitely got all the boys attention too. Some people snickered. Guessing it was the girls.

Assholes.

" Please introduce yourselves to the class " Ms. Mills nodded to the group of kids. The kid in the blue and red baseball cap looked really excited to, while the girl looked quite shy, so did the kid in the nerdish glasses, but the guy in the white robe looked very chill.

" Heyo! I'm Ness. A pleasure to be here! "

Ness said tilting his cap sideways like, as if he's greeting someone, which looked really cute.

I did hear some girls kya in the back. But I ignored them.

Ness was 5"8. He had black and short messy hair above it was a red and blue cap with a pin, he also wore a red and white high school sports like jacket, assuming that it was the schools jacket he went to before he came here, and underneath it was a blue and yellow shirt. A nice and tidy pair of jeans, white socks tucked in and his sport like jacket was matching with his sport like red and white shoes. He looked very casual but manly.

All this time I was thinking, he was scanning the room while some people asked some questions. But what I didn't notice is that he eventually laid his eyes on me. I felt my face heat up in a few seconds. He grinned at me widely.

He looks Fun.

Once Ness looked back to the class and finished answering some other random questions, he stepped aside and the next one stepped up,

The girl was up next.

" H-Hi! My name is Paula! I hope that we can all get along! " Paula exclaimed with a small curtsy holding the tips of each end of her skirt like dress. Some boys laughed and stared at her recent antics. Their was a audible whistle in the background which caused Paula to squirm a bit with her hands and shuffle her feet around. But people just laughed it off. Jeez, the pressure here.

Paula was 5"4. She had blueberry blue eyes, vibrant blonde hair, bangs that went to her eyebrows, her hair was wavy and tied in a long ponytail with a small red bow. She also had makeup on, not too much, just a bright red lipstick and mascara. She also wore a white turtle neck and over top was a strapped pink dress but the length was like a skirt. It also had a tiny teddy bear icon on it at the bottom. She wore knee high white socks and red low heels.

She nodded her head and then she quickly looked away and hid behind Ness, he obviously laughed, causing her to hide her eyes behind her bangs and a small but noticeable blushed crept on her face which was very cute. She looks adorable.

She peeked over his shoulder and watched as the next one stepped up.

The nerdish boy.

He stepped up very awkwardly which was hilariously cute.

" Uh, Hi. I'm Jeff... I u-uh.. like guns? " This caused the whole room to go quiet which turned to loud laughter erupting from everyone's mouths. I looked over to Neila , she looked like she felt bad for the poor guy. Then to Rj, who was laughing with the rest of them. I felt bad for Jeff

Jeff was 5"7. He wore his hair nice and neatly placed, he had a slightly visible mustache, his eyes covered by his glasses. He wore a long white collar top and over it a green woolen tank top sweater, a nice red bow aswell but placed in the middle of where the collar parts. He had navy blue jeans around his waist that held up tight with a plain black belt and brown classic shoes. He also had pink and blue socks you assumed his mother forced him to wear. He also had a brown backpack around his shoulders. In back which looked like a satellite.

Cool

He looked very shy but it was cute

Now it was the genies turn

He looked very chill, he lightly placed a hand on Jeff's right shoulder as if he was there to support him and they both nodded. Jeff shuffled behind the genie man and the genie man stepped up.

Hands was placed in his pockets he looked up to the classroom with a unreadable expression. The classroom was very quiet at times like these. Then he had a polite smile plastered on his face. " G'day to you all, The Name is Poo. "

was all Poo said with a nod and kept his mouth shut as if he didn't care. Some snickered at his name. Although his smile was still set on his face he didn't really care for it,

he was trying to be as polite as possible.

Poo was 6"1. He had jet black colored eyes, a slightly visible mustache like Jeff, and a tied mini black beard at the bottom of his chin. His hair was shaved off though it was a buzz cut and he had some hair in the front popping out and a tied ponytail in the back. He also had a single hoop on his left ear. He wore a sleeveless like, white body suit, type of robe and a black belt around it. He wore blue big but thin wristbands and white socks with black genie like shoes.

I smiled in enthusiasm which he had noticed and nodded to me before stepping back to join the others. He looks sexy.

I shook my head at those thoughts. Maybe I can go talk to them later I thought and smiled to myself before looking back to my sketchbook.

[chilling-seavey]

oh ok what about a blurb for sc where Daniel and Marigold go on their first date?

↳  A/N Such an iconic moment and such a simple yet special night🥺

↳ Word Count: 3793

↳ Seasons Change Taglist: @stuffofseaveyy @randomlimelightxxx @jonahlovescoffee @hiya-its-amber @hopinglimelight @onlyangelavery @sbrewer21 @bessonsbxtch @viamiasoncrack @the-girl-who-cried-wolf @21burritoseavey @queenseavey23​ @xkelsev - Please click the link in my bio to be added to the taglist!

May 16, 2008

Daniel was sure that if he bit his lip any harder, he would draw blood. The high school hallways were bustling with students who all spoke and shouted over each other as they gathered their things after final bell before the weekend. The slamming of lockers and bumping of bodies didn’t even seem to phase Daniel as he stared right down the hallway to where Marigold was standing.

She had her hair in braids that day and she smiled so widely when Daniel gave her a weak compliment in first period. Even just thinking about it now had his stomach in knots. He had never been smooth and never been flirty and even that simple statement in passing made him nervous.

They had talked almost every day since they officially met in first period English. There was nothing Daniel looked forward to more than her sweet ‘Good morning, Daniel’ every day as she walked into the classroom and took her seat behind him. Talking with his friends at lunch led him to accept that he had a wholehearted crush on her and if he didn’t ask her out he would be royally doomed.

Thing is, Daniel made that realization only two weeks after they met and planned to ask her out on Valentine’s day but totally chickened out. Three months later, he was driving himself insane for putting it off so long. His friends said if he didn’t ask her out that week then they would do it for him and wouldn’t that be embarrassing.

It was Friday. After the last bell. He couldn’t put it off any longer.

With one more nervous pet to his hair and a straightening of his back, he made his way over. Marigold glanced up at him as he approached.

“Hey.” she grinned, “You never come visit me. What do I owe the pleasure?”

Daniel licked his lips nervously as he watched her tuck her binders into her rose patterned backpack.

When he didn’t answer, she looked back at him with a chuckle, “Hello?”

Daniel rose his eyes to hers and took a deep breath, “Do you wanna go out with me this weekend?”

A sweet smile played at the corner of Marigold’s mouth as she slung her zipped up bag over her shoulder and closed her locker, “I’m at my grandparents’ this weekend but I’m free tonight.”

Daniel’s eyes went wide, his breath stuttering in his chest for a moment, “Tonight? Tonight…y-yeah, okay, yeah, I can do tonight.”

“Okay.” Marigold nodded in agreement. “I gotta go…mom’s waiting…but message me on AIM with a time and place.”

“Yeah.” Daniel breathed out, watching her rush off past him with a hurried ‘bye!’ and into the hallway crowded with teenagers. He couldn’t hold back the little air punch in celebration for that and he hurried off into the crowd in the opposite direction before anyone could see his bit of a happy dance.

The moment Daniel got home, he was rushing towards the basement, “I need the computer! I need the computer!”

He nearly threw himself into the computer room, only to find his older brother already there.

“I’m mid-game.” Christian said without looking up. “You can have it after dinner.”

“No. No, no, I need it now. Please.” Daniel stood over him impatiently.

“For what?”

“None of your business.”

“I need to know to decide if it’s worth stopping my game.”

“It is! I need to get on AIM, like, now.”

Christian paused his playing and looked up at his brother, “Is it a girl?”

With the distraction that obviously worked, Daniel threw himself on his brother’s lap and unplugged the game controller and closed the window himself. Christian shouted at him in protest and Daniel did his best to hold his older brother back as he opened up AIM and found Marigold’s contact – labeled as ‘online’ - and drafted a super rushed message.

C u at 6 for dinner?

“Mom! Daniel is hogging the computer!” Christian shouted towards the stairs. “And rubbing his nasty butt on me!”

Daniel ignored him, muttering under his breath as he saw the typing icon pop up, “Come on, come on.”

Yes. Where?

I’ll pick u up

A smiley thumbs up emoticon came through as is reply just as Christian shoved him off his lap and onto the carpeted floor. Daniel only picked himself up with ease and tossed the controller at his older brother’s head.

“Go play your stupid game while I have a date with a real girl.”

He rushed for the stairs before Christian could smack him for the diss.

By 5:30, Daniel had showered and dressed in pants and a button-up and fixed his hair three times in the mirror in his room. He grabbed his jacket and keys and hurried for the door. He made it right out to the driveway before realizing he was forgetting something.

Marigold thought farther ahead than Daniel did – that wasn’t odd – and her address was waiting for him in their AIM messages when he returned to the computer. He scribbled it down on a scrap piece of paper and nearly tripped up the stairs on his way back upstairs to type it into the old GPS in his hand-me-down truck. Daniel wasn’t necessarily a clumsy guy but the nervousness that was pumping through him certainly made that his momentary unfortunate reality. He even forgot to take the car out of park before trying to back out of the driveway. A marigold flower that he had picked from his mother’s garden rested in the cupholder.

The robotic voice of the GPS led him through the suburban streets of West Hartford to a red brick Tudor house with lush gardens and a perfectly trimmed lawn. Daniel lingered in the driveway for a moment, staring up at the front door that was framed by two small lights, waiting for him. He took a deep breath, stepped out of his old truck, and walked cautiously up the few stone steps to the hedge trimmed front porch. He barely knocked on the wood door before it was pulled open, revealing Marigold on the other side.

His heart did a little skip.

“Hi.” she said sweetly.

Daniel tried to word his response as he stared at her with her long blonde hair left in their natural waves and her face dusted in light makeup. He finally got out a soft, “Hi. You…look so good.”

Marigold tucked her hair behind her ear, “Thank you. You look good too.”

Daniel shifted and held out the marigold flower to her, “I…would have brought more but this was kinda last minute.”

“Well aren’t you as sweet as sugar?” Marigold giggled as she took it from him and twirled it between her fingers, “But my favourite flowers are hydrangeas.”

“Shit.” Daniel muttered.

“Just remember for next time.” she said as she closed the front door behind her.

Daniel nodded lightly, “Next time.”

They headed to his truck and he opened the door for her and held out a hand to help her up the slightly large step into the passenger seat. Marigold thanked him with a smile and took his hand although the way she easily hopped in meant she really didn’t need any sort of help.

“Where are we going?” Marigold asked once Daniel turned the key in the rumbling ignition.

“It’s a surprise.” Daniel said, switching the truck into reverse and tucked his hand behind her chair to back out of the driveway.

Marigold smiled over at him, “I like surprises.”

“Don’t get your hopes up.” Daniel added quickly.

“Don’t second guess yourself.” she retorted, although her tone was gentle.

Their eyes met briefly from across the front seat of the truck and Daniel looked back quickly to the road, stuttering to a stop at a crosswalk. Marigold reached out a hand to the dashboard.

“Sorry.” Daniel said, “Not quite used to driving this thing yet.”

“That’s okay.” Marigold said easily. “I can’t drive at all so you’re already impressing me.”

Daniel smiled to himself as he continued driving more towards the centre of town. Marigold hummed softly and tucked the flower behind her ear, pulling down the sun visor to look in the small mirror to make sure it was sitting nicely.

“It’s a gorgeous shade of yellow. Did you grow it yourself?” she asked, tapping the petals gently before shutting the visor again.

“No.” Daniel chuckled. “My mom did. I don’t…know a lot about gardening.”

“What a shame.” Marigold tisked. “I love it.”

Her eyes went wide as they turned into a parking lot and she gasped as she threw out her hand to touch his arm. Daniel was sure shivers tore down his spine at her simple touch and he glanced over at her in surprise.

“Are we going to Wendy’s?” she asked.

“Is that okay?” Daniel retorted quickly.

“Yes!” Marigold grinned, clapping her hands together a little in excitement. “Wendy’s is my favourite!”

Daniel let the truck drift to a stop in the drive-thru lineup and he looked over at her, “Really? It’s mine too.”

“Wow. We sit next to each other for three entire months and yet we are still learning about each other.”

“I mean we talk more about Shakespeare than fast food and flowers in class but…yeah.” Daniel chuckled.

Marigold smiled at him, the sweetest giggle falling from her lips, and the dim lights from the restaurant sign and almost setting sun outside the windows cast a pretty yellow glow across her face. Daniel was sure he had never seen anything or anyone as beautiful.

She told him her order and he paid at the window and passed her the takeout bag to hold as he pulled out of the drive-thru. Marigold peeked open the bag and snuck a fry for herself before taking a second and holding it out in front of Daniel’s nose. He smiled shyly and leaned in to let her feed it to him as he drove. She folded up the top of the takeout bag and let her gaze drift out the window as they headed towards the outskirts of town.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked.

“You’ll see.” Daniel answered casually.

Marigold glanced over at him as he was focused on the road and she let a small smile come to her lips. He had this seriousness about him when he drove, or maybe that was just his first date jitters taking over, as his bottom lip stayed wedged between his teeth and his hands stayed wrapped around the steering wheel. He took them out of the suburbs and into the outskirts of town where the buildings moulded into farmland and the street lamps turned into rickety telephone wires. Daniel - who only had his license for a few months - drove extra cautiously as pavement turned into dirt roads. The sun was still just over the horizon but was dropping quickly and the hues of sunset were fluttering through the truck and across their faces.

Daniel finally pulled into an alcove at the side of the road, down a slightly narrow dirt path that somewhat resembled someone’s driveway. Marigold simply held their takeout bag on her lap and trusted his process. He did a slightly rusty three-point-turn to reverse at the end of the path and then parked.

“Where are we?” Marigold asked with a slightly nervous giggle.

“Come.” Daniel opened the door and hopped out onto the dirt below. Marigold followed him around the truck with the takeout bag and he opened the back to reveal the bed of the truck made up with blankets and pillows.

Marigold bit back her smile and turned over her shoulder to the vast expanse of farmland beyond and a perfect view of the sunset and the outskirts of the city in the distance.

“Is it stupid? You can tell me.” Daniel said quickly.

“No.” she answered right away. “I really love this.”

“Good because my other option was bowling and I really suck at bowling.” Daniel sighed.

Marigold laughed sweetly and climbed up into the back of the truck. He followed quickly and they got the pillows arranged to rest back on with the blankets under them to prevent the hard plastic of the truck bed from becoming too uncomfortable. They split their food and ate on their laps while watching the sunset. Daniel was almost too nervous to eat - he felt like he might be sick any moment - but he ate anyway and focused on the soft humming coming from the pretty blonde girl beside him.

“How’d you find this spot?” Marigold finally asked.

“By chance, honestly.” Daniel shrugged. “I was practicing my driving before I got my full license and I was up around here and pulled over to answer a call from my mom and...I dunno...it looked kinda nice.”

Marigold nodded in agreement through a bite of her burger before answering, “It is kinda nice.”

“You’re the first person I’ve taken here.”

“Oh really?” Marigold smiled over at him, “I’m glad. Maybe this can be our spot.”

Daniel bit his lip to prevent himself from smiling as wide as he possibly could back at her and he nodded, “Okay.”

They finished their meals in near silence and by the time the sun finally dipped below the horizon and sent the land into near darkness, they rested back against the pillows comfortably. Daniel pulled up one of the blankets over their laps to keep warm as night fell and the temperature started to drop. Marigold was entranced by the views, her gaze unwavering as she stared up at the stars starting to appear across the inky sky.

“You can never see the stars from town.” she whispered.

Daniel looked from her up to the sky himself and smiled lightly at the blinking stars staring back at them.

“They’re so pretty.” Marigold said.

He looked back over at her, certainly finding her much prettier than the stars. He couldn’t believe she was really truly there with him - after months of psyching himself out and putting it off. She was the prettiest girl in the whole school, Daniel was sure of it, not to mention the sweetest and thinking about the fact that she so easily agreed to go out with him made his heart jump in his chest.

As if reading his thoughts, she asked, “Why’d you want to ask me out?”

Daniel was startled by her question and when he didn’t answer right away she looked back at him expectantly.

“I...You...were the prettiest girl I’d ever seen when you walked into the classroom at the start of term and...so nice to me and so...sweet and...I’ve had a serious crush on you for weeks now but I was too scared to ever do anything about it.”

Marigold lolled her head back against the rear window of the truck and listened so intently to him that you’d think he was preaching the gospel.

“So why now?” she challenged.

“Truth?” Daniel asked.

She nodded.

“My friends said if I didn’t ask you out by the end of the week, they’d do it for me and I don’t think I could ever recover from that embarrassment if they did.”

“Ah, so you waited for the eleventh hour?” Marigold giggled.

“Yeah.” Daniel laughed lightly, looking back down to his lap where he was picking nervously at the loose threads on the blanket draped over them.

Marigold spoke quietly to him, her eyes focused on his face even when he wasn’t looking back at her, “Well you know I’m not shy by any means but...I kinda always got a little nervous around you.”

Daniel finally looked back at her, “What? Really?”

She bit her smiling lip and nodded, “I kinda had a serious crush on you too. I’d get all nervous before first period because I knew I’d be seeing you.”

“Shut up. You did not.” Daniel blushed, looking away from her shyly.

“I did. I did, I swear.” Marigold giggled. “You were just so cute and quiet and made me feel like a little kid all shy.”

“You shoulda told me.” Daniel mumbled, his cheeks flushed pink.

Marigold nudged him, “You shoulda told me.”

They looked back out to the stars, smiling to themselves quietly at the confessions of the other. By the light of the stars, Marigold slid her hand out and brushed over his wrist ever so gently. His eyebrows furrowed a moment in confusion and turned his left hand out palm up as if expecting her to pass him something but all she did was slide her fingers into his and held his hand. Daniel kept his eyes on the sky but gladly kept a snug grip on her hand, ignoring the sickening sweet butterflies that flew around in his stomach.

“My mom says I can get too friendly sometimes so if I cross a line just tell me.” Marigold said.

“You’re fine.” Daniel assured her with a whisper.

She shuffled closer and leaned her head on his shoulder and he swore the feeling of her so close had the most blissful warmth radiating throughout his whole body. He gently rubbed his thumb over hers and she gave his hand a squeeze. Is this what heaven felt like? Daniel never wanted to leave. Just to sit forever just them and the stars.

They sat just like that for a while, sharing whispered conversations about home and their families and their favourite movies. Even when their palms got a little clammy as the minutes moulded into hours, they didn’t move from their spot.

Their spot.

Curfew approached faster than they would have liked to admit and Daniel turned to look at her in their close proximity. Their noses touched as she was still leaned up into his side but she just brushed hers over his and they shared little shy giggles. He could have kissed her right then and there. The stars sparkled in her light blue eyes and he could feel the warmth of her body against his and she was staring at him like she wanted him to.

Daniel shifted slowly and dusted a kiss over her cheek instead before slipping his hand out of hers, “We should head back.”

His shyness made her smile and she let her gaze linger on him a moment longer as he gathered their empty takeout bag and shifted the blanket off of their laps. Daniel never often noticed the way she stared at him when he wasn’t paying attention, always with that same soft smile and adoring light eyes, ever since that very night of their very first date.

Daniel mentally beat himself up the entire drive back into town for not kissing her. The opportunity was right there and he chickened out. As they pulled into Marigold’s driveway, he told himself he was going to kiss her and end the date as it should end. He parked and took a deep breath before looking over at her.

“Thank you for tonight.” Marigold smiled. “I had fun.”

“You’re welcome.” Daniel replied quickly.

“Dinner was great...the stars...everything...it was incredible.”

Daniel only nodded, trying to find that perfect beat of silence so he could go for it but Marigold wasn’t really one to ever stop talking.

“I haven’t really been on dates before...but this one was certainly my favourite. Even the flower. Especially the flower.” she touched the yellow marigold that was still tucked behind her ear before grabbing her small purse and opened the door.

“I’ll walk you up.” Daniel said hurriedly and jumped out of the truck with her.

He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pants as they headed up the front steps and she smiled widely at him.

“What a gentleman.” she complimented, a hint of teasing in her tone just to make him blush.

She reached for the door handle but turned back to him almost expectantly. Daniel almost went for it but she spoke again.

“So...are we dating then?”

Her question took Daniel by surprise but she smiled sweetly at him as she waited for his answer.

He licked his lips nervously but nodded, “Yeah. I’d...I’d like that.”

“Daniel, will you be my boyfriend?”

“I’m supposed to ask you!”

“You asked me on the date so it’s only fair I can ask you to date me.”

“That’s...that’s not...Marigold, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Only if you agree to be my boyfriend.”

“You’re so stubborn, oh my gosh.” Daniel laughed nervously.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yeah, obviously.”

“Yeah, obviously.” Marigold giggled, using his words as her reply too, their momentary banter falling into silence.

This was the moment.

Daniel stepped closer to her and leaned down slightly, sliding his hand to the side of her neck and gently tilted her head up towards him. They were only a mere inch apart before the front door was tugged open and Marigold, who still had her hand on the handle, went stumbling backwards with a gasp.

“Mari!”

Marigold turned to her younger sister with a huff, “What, Iris? What is it?”

The blonde girl in the doorway - who looked a heck of a lot like Marigold apart from her slightly darker blonde hair and much greener eyes - continued loudly, “Do you know where my purple skirt is? I need it for this weekend!”

“You couldn’t have waited two more minutes for me to come inside?” Marigold scolded lightly.

Daniel shifted shyly on his feet and kept his hands in his pockets as she reprimanded her little sister.

“Hey,” the younger teenager looked past her to Daniel, “Aren’t you Anna Seavey’s brother?”

Daniel nodded stiffly, “Yeah.”

“Jesus! She’s like the coolest freshman in the entire school. Mari, are you dating Anna’s brother?!”

“Iris! You’re being rude. And don’t say Jesus.”

“Okay, but have you seen my skirt? Can you help me find it?”

Daniel chuckled at Marigold’s obviously unimpressed expression but she sighed in defeat, always too nice for her own good.

“Fine. I’m coming.” Marigold looked back to Daniel, “Sorry.”

He waved his hand between them casually, “Nah, it’s fine.”

“I’ll see you on Monday.” she smiled. “Thanks again for tonight.”

Daniel nodded and watched her be pulled inside by her fourteen-year-old sister. He lingered on her front porch for a moment before exhaling deeply and running his hands through his hair. Merely a few hours before he was pathetically pining over this girl from his english class and suddenly, by nightfall, he was her boyfriend.

Daniel drove home in his hand-me-down pickup truck that lingered with the scent of her floral drugstore perfume. No junior would ever say this, but he couldn’t wait until Monday.

[svtwritess]

Chapter 2

➫ word count: 11.6k (this got away from me to say the least </3) ➫ pairings: wonwoo x female reader, mingyu x female reader ➫ genre: fluff, smut, angst ➫ college!au, vampire!au ➫ warnings: sexual content, alcohol, food

“So are you gonna explain who that guy was?” Wonwoo asked, attempting to seem disinterested as he gripped the steering wheel of the moving truck tightly. 

“His name is Mingyu,” you said defensively as you tried to hide your smile, “and he was just helping me move everything inside that’s all.” you shrugged as you looked out of the window. 

It hadn’t been long since you parted from Mingyu, but you couldn’t get him out of your head. How did someone so tall, attractive, strong, and seemingly very sweet just… magically appear the exact second that you needed someone who was all of those things?  

“Yeah, I’m sure that was it.” Wonwoo scoffed disapprovingly. 

You whipped your head around to look at him, a frown evident on your features. He looked over at you and raised his eyebrow before returning his eyes to the road in front of him. 

“What? You think he had some sort of ulterior motive?” you questioned, slightly offended. 

“Um, yeah. Anyone with a brain would be able to figure that out.” Wonwoo said matter-of-factly, your jaw dropping at his words. 

“Wh-“ 

“Just tell me this,” Wonwoo started again, “Did he or did he not say or do something flirtatious at some point in time?” he asked, sounding as if he already knew the answer. 

Your instinct was to reply defensively and say no, but you quickly realized that you couldn’t. Very obviously checking you out when he first met you and asking you to promise that he’d see you again doesn’t exactly fall under the category of friendly. 

“I- That doesn’t matter.” you said and crossed your arms. Even though he was flirting, it was harmless and there’s no reason for Wonwoo to be so judgmental about it. It was probably because the whole Joshua incident had literally just passed, so him being upset was understandable, but it’s not like Mingyu was feeling you up in front of him or something. 

“Of course it doesn’t.” he chuckled lightly, clearly not believing you. 

You rolled your eyes. “And you care so much about this why?” you asked, a tinge of annoyance in your voice. 

“Cause I don’t trust him.”

‘Whatever,’ you thought, ‘it’s not like anything will come from it anyway’. Knowing your history with any guy that wasn’t Joshua, there was an extremely small chance that your relationship with Mingyu would amount to anything other than an acquaintanceship. You’d only spent around 2 hours with the guy, but even so, it was clear that he’s wildly attractive and that he has an insane effect on you. You hoped you’d see him again, really, you just didn’t know when or how.

Wonwoo pulled into a parking spot at the moving truck company. You unbuckled your seatbelt with a sigh, hopped out of the truck, and went inside. 

The bright lights caused you to squint as they were a great contrast to the darkness outside, and the harsh air conditioning caused a shiver to run down your spine. The building was essentially empty except for a few lone employees. 

You walked over to the help desk and told them you were returning a truck. You grabbed the key from Wonwoo, signed a form saying you returned the vehicle, and went right back outside to order an Uber home. Your parents offered the two of you one of their cars to take to college, but anywhere that you would need to go on a daily basis was walking distance. The walk could sometimes be further than you’d like depending on where you were going, but not far enough to work up a sweat, so it was something that you and Wonwoo were both thankful for. 

You ordered the Uber and told Wonwoo it would arrive in 3 minutes. He just nodded and leaned against the concrete wall of the building. 

“What’s your schedule like for this semester?” you asked, kicking around a small rock that was on the ground.

“Two classes on Monday and two on Tuesday, you?” he asked, arms crossed and giving you a curious stare.

“That seems like a lot,” you told him, but he just shrugged. “I have one in the morning everyday except Friday.” 

“Eh, I’d rather just get them over with,” he reasoned, “Is your Monday morning class the one about Shakespeare too?” he asked and you nodded. You were going into creative writing and he was going into literature, so a few of your classes were the same. 

“How did we not plan that?” you laughed, and he shrugged with a chuckle, not knowing the answer to your question either. 

The Uber pulled up in front of you and you both climbed inside. You checked to make sure the driver was the same as the person on the app and after confirming that it was, you sat back in your seat and anticipated getting back to your apartment so you could finally sleep.

It was finally the first day of classes and you were the utmost excited. With a content smile on your face, you put the last of your necessities in your bag and threw it over your shoulder. After looking in the mirror and running a brush through your hair one last time, you headed into your living room. 

Wonwoo was slumped down on the couch with his phone in his hand. He had a small pout on his face and looked more tired than you would have expected him to. 

“Good morning!” you said happily, sitting down next to him. 

He chuckled at your perkiness. “Well good morning. Why are you so excited?” he locked his phone and put it on his lap, looking up at you. 

“I don’t know,” you shrugged, “it’s the first day of classes, isn’t that always kind of exciting?” you asked curiously.

“Eh,” he said as he sat up straight, “it’s just school.”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. He was right, it was just more school, but you were in college now, and everything was different, at least in your eyes.

“Well, would getting breakfast before class make it any better?” you inquired, and his face immediately perked up at your words. He nodded his head avidly and you smiled at his enthusiasm. “Okay, but we have to go now.”

Wonwoo stood up immediately and grabbed his grey bag that was sitting on the kitchen counter. He opened your front door and used his arm to motion outside. 

“Then let’s go now!” he said, a new found energy in his voice. You laughed and stood up, exiting your new apartment with your best friend in tow. You took the key out of your bag, locking the door and setting off toward your breakfast destination. 

You knew there was a coffee shop right by the campus as you had seen in when you toured the college almost a year ago, so you decided to go there. You and Wonwoo made small talk as you walked, Wonwoo still seeming too lethargic to discuss anything more than the basics. 

You arrived at the small shop, the air conditioning cool and the walls a calming blue color. There were a few other people your age scattered around the cafe, presumably other students. They all seemed happy, which was a good sign from a place that served food. 

You and Wonwoo approached the counter and a girl with a half up-half down hairstyle with a black apron on walked up to the counter to serve you. 

“Hi guys! What can I get for you?” she asked, her voice cheerful and her smile almost overwhelmingly large. Wonwoo got a coffee and a muffin and the girl punched in his order as she spoke. 

“O-okay,” she blushed, “anything else?” 

You placed your order, which was very similar to Wonwoo’s, and pulled your card out to pay. However, you realized that she hadn’t punched anything into the cash register the entire time you were talking. She was staring off into space, or rather, staring way too intently at Wonwoo. You moved forward a little to try and catch her attention, and she was shaken out of her thoughts.

“Sorry, uh, what was that?” she asked, her blush worse than before. You repeated your order, admittedly a bit irritated, and moved to pay again. As you went to insert your card into the machine in front of you, Wonwoo stopped you. 

“Here,” he said, reaching forward and inserting his card instead, “I got it.” 

He paid for your order and the girl handed you a number card to put on your table, shyly telling you that your order would be right out. You walked over to a small table in the corner of the shop and sat down, placing the number card at the edge of the table. 

“So she was obviously into you.” you stated, rather annoyed, and Wonwoo chuckled. 

“Was she? I didn’t notice.” he smirked, “Why do you sound so bothered, huh? Got something you wanna confess?” he joked. You laughed loudly. 

“Please,” you scoffed, “no. She just didn’t need to be so obvious about checking you out, that’s all.” 

The same girl that took your order came over to your table with a tray in her hand. She set your coffees and muffins down on the table before standing there for a moment, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Thank you.” you said as nicely as possibly, attempting to make it obvious that she no longer needed to be standing there.

“Oh,” she said, clearly surprised, “yeah, sorry. Just let me know if you need anything.” she gave Wonwoo one last look before heading back to her position at the front counter. 

“Well?” you asked Wonwoo, causing him to raise an eyebrow at you. “Do you need anything?” 

He chuckled at your bitterness. “Yeah, I need to eat.” he picked up his muffin and took a large bite. You, too, were feeling rather famished, so you began working on yours as well. You ate and drank in silence, hunger consuming the both of you. You also wanted to leave as soon as possible so that you weren’t late for your first class.

You watched as Wonwoo chugged the last of his coffee and set the cup down on the table. 

“Ready?” he asked, but all you could do was stare, as you had muffin threatening to fall out of your mouth. With ¾ of your coffee left and half a muffin in your hand, you shrugged and nodded. You could eat on the way and you’d hoped you’d be able to finish your beverage in class. You stood up from the table and pushed the chair in, making your way out the door. 

Wonwoo pulled out his class schedule and found the class you were headed to. 

“A-203,” he said under his breath, you assumed he was saying the building and room number.

You walked for a few more minutes, and soon your school’s campus came into view. It was the first time you were seeing the place in a few months and you could feel your heartbeat increase. You weren’t sure if it was because of excitement or pure anxiety, but either way, you were hoping for a good first day. 

You approached the large sign with your school’s name on it as you took the last bite of your muffin, throwing the wrapper in a trash can that you happened to walk by. You took another sip of your coffee as Wonwoo spotted the building your class was located in and pointed in that direction. You checked the time on your phone as you walked and thankfully you still had 10 minutes to spare. 

You approached the building and went inside. For some reason it was extremely cold, so you held onto your coffee hoping it would bring you some form of warmth. You climbed the stairs slowly, the feeling of the muffin that hadn’t yet digested weighing you down. 

When you reached the top of the stairs and began walking down the hallway, Wonwoo read the room numbers out loud. But of course, the very first room was number 219, which meant that your classroom was at the very end of the hall. 

You walked and walked until finally a sign with a big “203” on it was right in front of you. You entered the classroom, and wow was it big. Much larger than any high school classroom you’d ever been in. There were at least 10 rows of seats and the further back they went the higher up they were elevated. It all felt very… classy.

You and Wonwoo picked seats in one of the middle rows and sat on the very end. Wonwoo always liked being close to the door for some reason. 

“Think the professor will be on time?” he asked, but you shook your head.

“Probably not.” you replied as you took your things out of your bags. You both pulled out your laptops, yours in a rather busy plastic case with stickers in some places and his completely bare, looking as if it had just come out of the box. Even when it came to your possessions, it was clear who the more organized friend was. 

You checked your phone and there was now 1 minute until class was set to start, yet still no sign of your professor. Though as if the universe could read your mind, the door burst open and a middle-aged woman with grey hair entered the room. Her clothes screamed 70’s hippy movement and her glasses were about as thick as a bulletproof window, but she was pretty. She was slender and on the taller side, she definitely fit the stereotype of a professor who teaches Shakespeare. 

“Hello all!” she said in a perky voice. “Now today we’re gonna be jumping right into the material, we’ve got a lot to cover. So take out whatever you’re using to take notes and let’s get started!” 

You opened a fresh page, set the font and size to your preference and began typing. She started with Romeo and Juliet, which makes sense as it’s arguably Shakespeare’s most famous work. 

As she rambled you typed, trying to digest the surprisingly interesting information she was relaying to you. Wonwoo looked just as immersed in his notes as you did, which is probably why he didn’t notice the girl further down the row staring at him. She was leaning forward to look past you with a dazed look in her eyes. Did he give out love potions to random girls at some point and not tell you about it? 

You rolled your eyes, not wanting to think about how many more girls would fawn over your best friend this semester, and continued typing. 

The 2-hour lecture went by fast, as your professor had a way with words and knew how to make even the most boring of facts interesting. You felt lucky for that, as you knew how much a bad teacher could affect a learning experience. 

“Did you like it?” you asked Wonwoo as you put your laptop back in your bag.

“Yeah, I did actually. She’s a good teacher.” you nodded in agreement as you stood up, Wonwoo soon following suit. The girl down the row from you who was gawking at your apparently extremely attractive best friend walked past the two of you, giving Wonwoo an unmistakably flirtatious look before she exited the classroom.

“That’s the second one today.” you observed as you made your way toward the door. 

“Oh you act like you don’t give guys looks like that when you’re into them.” he teased, but you shook your head.

“Maybe at a party or something where a look like that is appropriate, but not in broad daylight!” you stated as you descended the stairs together. “Girls didn’t look at you like that in high school, what’s different?” 

“I don��t have Joshua next to me all the time.” he said in a low voice and shrugged. Sadly, you knew he was right. Joshua always got way more attention than Wonwoo in high school for some reason, even before his gigantic growth spurt. You felt your heart pang as you realized sleeping with Joshua probably didn’t make Wonwoo feel any better about himself at that time, but sadly, there wasn’t anything you could do about it now. 

“Well then I would say it’s time to get some, wouldn’t you?” you suggested as you stood in the lobby of the first floor.

Wonwoo just laughed. “Yeah, sure…” he trailed off, itching the back of his neck. “My next class is just down the hall, see you when I get home?” 

You nodded and wished him luck before heading back to your lovely, yet average, college apartment.

When you were walking home earlier, you saw a grocery store on your path and thought ‘why not?’ 

You went inside and grabbed the ingredients to make your favorite kind of pasta, as sort of a celebration that you and Wonwoo had successfully completed your first day of college. 

The ingredients were cheaper than you thought they’d be, and on an even brighter note, the guy at the register was cute. He was tall and slender with fluffy hair and a cute little beauty mark by his lip, though the way you felt when he looked at you was nowhere near as intense as when Mingyu did. Even though you’d only met him once, any time you saw a guy you thought was even remotely cute, you started comparing them to him. For some reason, your heart seemed to be dead set in seeing him again. 

When you got home, you took some time to get changed and relax. You threw on one of your favorite oversized t-shirts and a pair of shorts and realized that you were happy to feel so comfortable in your new home so soon.

You started cooking the pasta so that it would be done at roughly the same time Wonwoo was supposed to be home. You must have timed it perfectly, because low and behold, Wonwoo came through the door just as you were pouring the sauce over the noodles. 

“Hey! How was your second class?” you asked excitedly. 

“Not nearly as good as the first one,” he said, clearly exasperated as he fell back onto the couch, “and what’s that smell?” 

“I maaaaay have made first day of class pasta.” you told him as you grabbed the only two bowls you had bought so far and a pair of tongs, using them to dish both you and Wonwoo some noodles. You got some utensils from out of one of the drawers and placed them in the bowls before walking over to Wonwoo and handing him one. As you sat down next to him, he immediately started eating. 

“Wah,” he groaned, “this is amazing!” it was hard to understand him with his mouth full, but you appreciated the compliment nonetheless. “Thanks y/n.” he said sincerely. 

Happily you nodded, a content smile on your face. “You’re welcome,” you replied as you began eating as well, the savory flavor meeting your tongue. Wonwoo was right, it was pretty amazing. 

“Oh guess what! That girl from the cafe this morning? She was in my other class.” he said, slightly mumbling due to the overflow of pasta in his mouth. 

You just sat there, looking at him blankly. “Really?”

“Yeah,” you could hear that he was smiling, “We sat next to each other. I, uh… got her number.” 

Noodles almost fell out of your mouth when he said that. 

“You did? Like you initiated the asking of the phone number?” you asked, extremely surprised.

“Yeah!” he laughed, “Why do you sound so shocked?” 

“Because it usually takes a girl making it extremely obvious that she likes you over a long period of time for you to do anything about it.” you stated as if it was obvious.

“Well I was feeling confident today, sue me.” he shrugged, continuing to eat. You said nothing else and focused on your noodles. You weren’t sure if it was because you weren’t used to Wonwoo getting female attention or because you didn’t want anyone stealing any of your time with your best friend, but you didn’t like it. Though of course you weren’t going to tell him that, you knew that he deserved it. “Anyway, how were your 2 hours without me?” 

You were just going to tell him that you only took a nap and made the food, but then you remembered something.

“I saw a cute guy at the store today. He was the cashier. Tall, nice hair.” 

“Did you flirt with him?” he asked nonchalantly.

“No, just admired.” 

“Ah, so he wasn’t as cute as Mingyu?” he teased and you whipped your head in his direction. 

“What makes you think that?” you asked defensively and he laughed at your new disposition. 

“Cause it seemed like you were pretty eager to flirt with him.” you glared at your best friend for a moment, but decided to do nothing but roll your eyes. 

You quickly finished the rest of your pasta, anger slowly rising up in you. You didn’t tease him about the cafe girl, so why did he feel the need to tease you about Mingyu? Admittedly, it had been very easy for your mind to wander to thoughts of the tall and handsome stranger that you’d sadly only crossed paths with once, and you didn’t like the feeling of vulnerability very much at all. As much as you wanted to see him again, you were scared that the more you spent time with him, the weaker for him you’d become. It was cheesy, that you knew, but even after spending time with him on just a singular occasion, you were already smitten, and along with that, desperate to see him again. 

You woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly well rested. You had gone to bed relatively early, mostly because Wonwoo went to take a nap at around 7pm and never woke up. When you checked your phone, it was already 9:00, so you only had half an hour to get ready and head out the door, as your class started at 9:45 and the walk took about 10 minutes. 

You rolled out of bed and started getting ready for the day. After brushing your hair and teeth, applying some deodorant, and washing your face, you walked over to your closet and opened the door. 

You stood there, arms crossed and foot tapping against the carpeted floor of your bedroom. You were in a good mood and you wanted to show it, but the question was, how would you do so? You looked through everything on hangers and everything in drawers, and after way too long of a time, you finally decided on an outfit. 

You pulled a yellow dress with small flowers on it off of its hanger and grabbed a pair of white sneakers to match. It was a bit dressier than you were used to, but it called out to you for some reason. You put the dress on along with some socks and your shoes before grabbing your bag and exiting your room. 

Wonwoo was sitting on the couch with a bowl of cereal in his hands, his pajamas still on and his hair still messy from his slumber. 

“Don’t you have class this morning too?” you asked suspiciously as you grabbed a cup from one of your cabinets, as well as the juice from the refrigerator, and poured yourself a drink.

“Yeah, not until 12 though. Then right after that one ends I have another one.” he said. You could practically hear the future exhaustion in his voice.

“That’s what you get for taking two classes in a row.” you shrugged. “When will you be home?” 

“Probably around 3, you?” 

“Right after class, so I guess around noon.” you told him and he simply nodded, his eyes drooping slightly. “You should try and get some more sleep before class, okay?” 

You ruffled his hair with one hand and chugged the rest of your juice with the other, your gesture causing him to smile sweetly. After setting your empty glass in the sink, you headed out the door. 

The sun was shining and the breeze was the perfect speed. Your hair was blowing in the wind, but it was in the luxurious movie type way, not the messy way, so you were okay with it. 

Your English class this morning was in the same building as your class yesterday, but luckily it was downstairs. Sadly, downstairs was just as cold as upstairs and you had completely forgotten to bring a sweater. You sighed at your mistake, knowing the cold wouldn’t be easy to endure, as you approached your classroom and opened the door. Your jaw nearly dropped when you saw the size of it as it was about twice as big as the classroom you were in yesterday. 

You wandered in, wide eyed and curious. As you scanned the room, you recognized a tall, tan, and perfectly built male figure. When he turned around, your heart dropped.

Mingyu. 

As you were completely awestruck by Mingyu’s presence, you were totally unaware of the fact that he had seen you as well and was heading right toward you. 

“Y/n!” he said happily, snapping you out of your daze. 

“M-Mingyu! Hi...” you blushed, trying hard to maintain eye contact. His intimidating stare made you want to cower in fear and look away, but you didn’t want to appear as affected as you actually were. 

“I see you decided to keep your promise.” he smirked and you let out a light, mostly nervous laugh.

“Yeah,” you quickly debated what to say next, “I guess you could say I was eager to see you again.” you genuinely couldn’t believe that you got the words out without stuttering, but that being said, you were very proud of yourself.

He crossed his arms and licked his lips, a smug, confident look plastered on his face. “Well in that case,” he stepped closer, “would you sit with me?” 

You didn’t trust your voice any longer, so you nodded, probably a little too excitedly. He cocked his head as to say “follow me” and began walking up the stairs with you following closely behind.

He brought you to the 3rd row from the back, away from everyone else. It definitely confused you, but in an intriguing sort of way. When he sat down, you realized he didn’t have anything with him. No bag, no notebook. It seemed like he just had the clothes on his back. 

“Where’s your stuff?” you questioned, sitting down next to him, the material of the chair feeling cool against your thighs, causing a shiver to run down your spine. 

“Eh, don’t need any.” he said casually as he leaned back in his chair, his glorious thighs on display. You swallowed anxiously and tried not to stare at them.

“Why not?” you took out your laptop and turned it on, trying not to worry about Mingyu seeing and potentially judging the stickers you had put on it. 

“I have a good memory.” he shrugged. You didn’t believe it was possible that someone could pass a class without taking notes, but maybe he only brought nothing because it was the first day of class and there probably wouldn’t be much work to do anyway. 

Your professor walked in a few minutes after class was scheduled to start, but considering you made small talk with Mingyu while waiting for him, you didn’t mind. He was a short man with thick black hair and round glasses. A curious character, but he seemed interesting. 

He ran through the syllabus rather quickly and jumped right into the material, which Mingyu did not seem to be happy about. He kept raising his hand and asking questions in an attempt to stall, but the professor seemed to know the game Mingyu was trying to play and was not having it, so he answered all of his questions with a mere sentence and moved on.

Mingyu was clearly confident, and was probably pretty popular as well. With those things considered, why was he opting to sit with you? He was talking to people when you came in and had apparently just abandoned them for you. You blushed at the thought of him prioritizing you over his friends, but you also felt a pang of guilt. It was only his second time meeting you so… maybe he was just as enchanted by you as you were by him? 

Throughout class, you found yourself fascinated by every point your professor made. His perspective on literature was one you had never heard before and you were the utmost intrigued, attempting to type every word that came out of his mouth. 

Sometimes, Mingyu would lean forward and ask you a question or make a clever remark, but even you were surprised at how you brushed him off. As much as you enjoyed listening to Mingyu’s voice, you were surprisingly enjoying the content of the lesson just as much. He seemed to notice your intense focus after a few of his comments and decided to lay off. He simply admired the way you would unconsciously nod along with the professor’s words with a smile on his face instead.  

Your two-hour lecture was over far sooner than you would have liked, but you knew anything longer than 2 hours would probably kill most other students. You sighed contently and turned off your laptop before putting it back into your bag and facing Mingyu.

“So,” you smirked, “how much of the lesson do you remember?” you leaned on the edge of your desk and looked into his eyes.

He chuckled and leaned forward, lacing his fingers together on top of his desk. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” 

“I would, that’s why I asked.” you said smugly. 

“Well it usually takes a little while for the information to sink in,” he said and all you could do was roll your eyes. 

“I’m sure it does.” you said sarcastically and stood up, throwing your bag over your shoulder. Mingyu got up as well and walked over to stand right in front of you.

“I’ll even prove it to you, go to a party with me this weekend.” he proposed, catching you completely off guard. 

“A-a party? What does that have to do with English?” you weren’t exactly sure why you were questioning him, but you decided to blame it on your nerves. 

“Well we’ll be speaking won’t we?” he smiled as he stepped a little closer. You nodded and looked up into his eyes, which was a huge mistake. They were perfectly shaped and incredibly inviting, so it was definitely not going to be easy to say no. “Come? Please?” he asked quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. 

“Okay.” you said. You sounded more anxious than anything, but inside you were screaming like a little kid.

“Good,” he laughed, “I’ll text you the address later.” he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He unlocked it and opened the contacts app before handing it to you. Your hands shook slightly as you put in your number and handed the phone back to him. 

“Can I walk you home?” he asked in a gentlemanly fashion, and again you nodded before you exited the classroom together. 

Mingyu offered to carry your bag for you, but you insisted that you could handle it yourself. You made small talk once more as you walked, simply enjoying his company. That being said, you were rather upset when you reached your front door.

“Thanks for walking me home.” you said, taking your key out of your bag.

“Don’t mention it,” he said sweetly. 

You opened the door to an empty apartment, and that was when you remembered Wonwoo was still in class. 

“Do you, uh… wanna come in?” you asked boldly, Mingyu simply smiling and nodding in response. You loved how much he smiled. 

“Your friend isn’t here is he?” he inquired, almost sounding nervous as he entered your apartment. 

“No,” you chuckled as you shut the door behind the pair of you. “Why, are you scared or something?” you teased, but he merely scoffed and sat down on your couch. 

“Of course not. We just didn’t hit it off very well last time.” he stated, eyes on the ground in front of him. It definitely seemed like Wonwoo wasn’t fond of your new, handsome acquaintance, but it wasn’t your place to speak for him, so you decided to change the subject. 

“Are you hungry?” you walked into your kitchen, “I can make you something.” you suggested.

“Hmm…” he pondered, “Whatcha got?” 

You looked in your refrigerator and in all of your cabinets and could only find one thing that was even remotely suitable for a proper meal.

“Uhh, ramen?” 

Mingyu looked at you for a moment before laughing and standing up. As he walked toward you, you wondered if you had somehow offended him by your offer.

“If anyone here is making ramen,” he placed his hands on your shoulders, “it’s me.” 

You furrowed your eyebrows at his comment as he walked past you, searching high and low for the proper size pot. Once he found it in one of your lower cabinets, he filled it with water and turned an eye of the stove on high before gently placing the pot on top of it. He then opened the cabinet in front of him, took out two packs of ramen, and put them next to the stove. He turned around and leaned against the counter next to the oven. “I’m kind of great at cooking. No big deal though.” he shrugged. You couldn’t help but laugh at his borderline cockiness. 

“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” you said in a sly voice as you stood directly in front of him. Your kitchen was on the small side and with Mingyu being as tall and broad as he was, you felt like the two of you were closer than you ever had been.

Admiration swarmed his brown orbs as he looked down at you. They were dangerously inviting. Subconsciously, you moved closer and closer to each other, until…

The water started boiling over the pot and spilling onto the stovetop. 

Mingyu heard it and immediately turned around, moving the pot off of the eye and turning the temperature down a few notches. Once the water had settled, he returned the pot to the eye that it was cooking on. 

“Guess that means it’s ready,” he mumbled before opening both packages of ramen and putting both blocks into the pot. “Sorry…” he said almost inaudibly. You didn’t know if he was talking about the ramen or the two of you almost kissing, but you decided you didn’t really want to find out and changed the subject. 

“So where did you learn how to make such amazing ramen?” you attempted to tease, though you were still on edge. 

“Well…”

Mingyu then proceeded to tell you (more like brag) about how he’d always had a knack for cooking, along with the fact that his taste buds were, in a word, immaculate. You simply nodded along and let him talk, finding joy in how passionate he seemed to be about culinary arts. It’s hard to think of merely making ramen as any type of art, but he had convinced you that he had mastered the art of making all types of dishes. You told him you’d believe it when you saw it as he added the flavor packets into the ramen and split the noodles into two bowls. He handed one to you and you thanked him before grabbing two pairs of chopsticks from a drawer and heading over to your couch. 

You sat down next to each other and ate in a comfortable silence. You didn’t want to tell him and feed his ego, but the ramen he made was easily the best you’d ever had. Once the two of you had finished eating, you leaned back against your couch and looked at each other. 

“What do we do now?” Mingyu asked. You couldn’t know for sure, but it seemed like there was an underlying playfulness in his voice, like he was hinting at something. Your mind went back to barely 10 minutes ago, when you could have sworn you were about to kiss, and your cheeks instantly turned a bright red color. You broke eye contact and stared at the ceiling nervously.

“We could, uh… watch a movie I guess? Unless you have somewhere to be...” you played with the hem of your shirt, anxiously awaiting his answer.

“Y/n?” he said sweetly, causing you to return your eyes to his. “I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be right now.” his body was turned toward you and his head was resting on top of a couch cushion, making his cheek look extra squeezable. You blushed even harder and tried not to smile as widely as you felt you could; how was he so smooth? Usually someone being so blatant about their feelings for you, especially so early on into knowing you, would be a total turn off for you. It was just something about the way Mingyu carried himself that made you swoon so easily. He’s confident without being cocky, knows how to flirt with you in a way that doesn’t make you uncomfortable, and was just extremely enjoyable and easy to be around. You knew someone this great was bound to have some hidden baggage, toxicity, or secret that would eventually come to light, but you tucked that thought into the back of your mind and decided to enjoy the happy times while you still had them. 

“Here,” you handed him your TV remote, “pick whatever you want.” you took his bowl and yours and set them on the coffee table in front of you. When you sat up straight again, Mingyu had his arm over the back of the couch He ended up choosing something animated that kind of seemed like it could be a kid’s movie, but it looked entertaining, so you had no complaints. 

The plot of the movie actually seemed to be really good, but you were missing some parts of it because you were drifting in and out of sleep the entire time. It was probably because Mingyu was so warm and comfortable along with the fact that actively listening and taking diligent notes in class wore you out, despite getting a good night’s sleep. 

By the end of the movie, you had fallen asleep against his shoulder. He was unsure of what to do as you looked so peaceful. He decided he would take a few moments to admire you before waking you up as gently as possible. 

He took the time to really look at your features, almost studying you. He noticed the way your top lip curved, the height of your cheekbones, the complexion of your skin. In all his years of living, even after having known thousands of women, you were easily one of the most beautiful. You also intrigued him, and though it was only his second time meeting you, he’d been alive long enough to know when someone was worth his time. 

“Y/n,” he whispered, shaking your body slightly.

You awoke in a startle, immediately sitting up and trying to remember what was happening when you fell asleep. 

“Oh god,” you put your face in your hands in embarrassment, “I’m sorry.” you told him when you remembered that you completely knocked out during what was supposed to be ~quality time~. 

“It’s fine, really. I should probably go anyway.” he said. You felt bad, as you didn’t want him to feel like he was boring or easy to fall asleep around, but when you checked the time, you saw that Wonwoo would be coming home soon. You really didn’t feel like trying to endure or get rid of that level of tension, especially in your tired state. 

“Yeah, my roommate will be home soon…” you didn’t want to finish your sentence in fear of sounding rude, but Mingyu understood exactly what you meant. 

“He doesn’t exactly like me, does he?” he chuckled as he stood up, offering his hand to you. You smiled and took it, getting up from the couch. 

“You’re just… new. He doesn’t really do well with new.” you shrugged as you walked him over to the door. “Sorry again for falling asleep, I promise it had nothing to do with you.” you reassured him.

“Don’t worry about it. I had a really nice time.” he told you and you smiled up at him.

“Me too.”

“See you this weekend?” he asked hopefully as he reached for the door handle. 

“See you this weekend.” 

“A party? No.” Wonwoo said, immediately shutting down your idea. You had invited him to attend this weekend’s party with you, but it was a shot in the dark in the first place.

“Come on!” you whined, sitting down next to him on his bed. “I don’t usually like going to them either, but this one could be fun…” you tried to reason with him.

“Yeah? Why is that?” he paused the video game he was playing and looked over at you. You looked down at his comforter, twiddling your fingers in fear of his response. 

“Because Mingyu invited me.” you said in the quietest voice possible. 

“Mingyu? Seriously?” he said defensively, a rather disgusted look on his face. You simply nodded, then proceeded to give him the purest puppy dog eye look known to man. He let out a long sigh. “You’re gonna go whether I’m with you or not aren’t you?” you nodded again, smiling innocently at him, despite the not-so-innocent situation. Another sigh left his lips, this one more exasperated than the first. “Fine, I’ll go. But only because I don’t trust him.” he pointed his finger at you and resumed his game, which told you the conversation was over. 

“Thank youuuu!” you said, very content with how surprisingly easy it was to get him to agree. You didn’t particularly like making him do something he didn’t want to do, but you also knew he’d drive himself crazy sitting at home wondering what you could be doing or why you weren’t answering your phone. You were also hoping he would make a friend that wasn’t coffee shop girl. Preferably someone who wasn’t interested in him sexually or romantically. 

It was around 10 o’clock now, you had already showered and were in your pajamas, so you felt like there was nothing keeping you from going to bed. You shouted a “goodnight” to Wonwoo and headed into your room. 

You fell onto your bed with an ‘oof’ before rolling over to where your nightstand was. You turned off your lamp, grabbed your phone, and rolled over to your other side. As soon as you began scrolling through one of your SNS accounts, you got a phone call.

From Mingyu.

Assuming that him calling meant that something was extremely wrong, you answered with no hesitation.

“Hello?” you said, worry evident in your voice. 

“Hey y/n, you okay?” he asked you, sounding way more calm than you expected him to.

“Yeah, are you okay?” you were now sitting up on your elbow in utter confusion in terms of his reason for calling. 

“Yeah. I just, uh, wanted to talk… is that weird?” he half-laughed at the end. You bit your lip in excitement. 

“No, not really. I guess I’m just surprised.” you said, feeling at peace enough to lay back down. 

“And why is that?” he questioned smugly.

“Well for one, no one really calls anymore.” you teased, even though you were more than okay with talking to him, despite the fact that you’d seen him earlier today.

“Let’s just say I’m old fashioned.” he reasoned.

“Alright, I’m okay with that.” you replied, smiling for a reason you couldn’t seem to point out. He’s really just that charming.

“Good. Soooo what’s your favorite color?” 

During your 2-hour phone call, Mingyu asked you all types of get-to-know questions. He wanted to know your favorite animal, subject, food, favorite place to be, along with things like places you wanted to travel, where you wanted to settle down and live someday, and even if you wanted kids. You would ask him the same questions in return, and you both insisted that you explained your answers. Though the questions were pretty surface level, you felt like you knew a lot more about Mingyu and felt a lot closer to him. 

Every night leading up to Saturday was filled with Mingyu’s phone calls as well. Only with each passing night, the questions became more revealing. Sometimes they’d be ethical, political, or even questions about your previous relationships. You only really had Joshua to tell about, and Mingyu didn’t seem to have much to tell about either, though it kind of felt like he was holding back when it came to the romance topic. Even though you were curious, you didn’t push it.

You were nervous to see Mingyu after getting to know him almost entirely over the phone, but at the same time, your heart skipped beats at the thought of being with him again. 

You woke up on Saturday morning, anxiety along with pure adrenaline coursing through your veins as you thought about what would happen later that day. You knew you would be seeing Mingyu and you knew it would be at a party, so alcohol could easily be involved, and you were nearly jumping out of your skin thinking about what else could potentially happen. You weren’t necessarily expecting anything wild or super memorable to happen, but you definitely felt like there was a possibility for it. You got out of bed begrudgingly, knowing that your mind would be filled with nothing but thoughts of seeing Mingyu for the entire day. 

When you stumbled into the living room, you found Wonwoo asleep on the couch. You let out a quiet laugh and rolled your eyes. You didn’t even want to know how he went from sleeping in his bed to sleeping on the couch, but you tried to be as quiet as possible nonetheless. 

You got a pan from the cabinet and a carton of eggs from your sad, nearly empty refrigerator. Upon putting the pan on the stovetop and turning it on, you heard your best friend stirring on the couch. You turned to look at him and he was sitting up, his face confused and his hair a mess. 

“Well good morning, did you sleep walk out here?” you asked as he stood up slowly made his way toward you.

“You know, it’s very possible, but I have no idea.” he replied, causing you to chuckle. He sat on the counter next to the stove and noticed that you were making breakfast. “Make me some?” you simply nodded in response and cracked four eggs into the pan, scrambling them as they cooked. Wonwoo made himself useful and grabbed two plates from the cabinet behind his head and placed them next to him by the stove. Once the eggs were done, you separated them onto the two plates evenly, turned off the stovetop, and walked over to your couch, breakfast and utensils in hand. 

“Don’t you think we should get a table at some point?” Wonwoo asked as the two of you sat down. 

“I mean technically we have a table,” you said as you motioned to the small, low-rising coffee table in front of you. “Is our twenty dollar, secondhand, barely holding itself together coffee table not good enough for you? Has college changed you?” you teased as you started eating. 

“No, I just feel like most grown ups have a table you can actually dine at.” he shrugged. You gave him a weird look, as you didn’t really know why it mattered to him so much, and continued with your eggs. 

“Are you excited for the party tonight?” you asked after a few minutes of egg-eating filled silence. You knew the answer was most likely no, but you were mostly asking because you weren’t sure if he even remembered that he agreed to go. 

“Ugh,” he groaned, “that’s tonight?” he looked at you in distaste. You replied with a simple nod and he threw his head back in defeat. “Why did I agree to go again?” 

“Because you loooove me.” you said playfully, smiling as you took the last bite of your breakfast. You watched your best friend turn beet red and avoid your eyes before you stood up and walked over to the sink, putting your plate inside of it. 

You then went into your room to grab your phone. When you picked it up, you felt your heart flutter at one of the notifications. 

Mingyu had texted you. 

You ignored everything else on the screen and opened his message. 

From: Mingyu

“phi kappa alpha house

10pm 

don’t be late ;)”

For mystery purposes, you decided not to respond, but you clutched your phone in extreme excitement, a smile on your face. The party was still half a day away and you honestly had no idea how you were going to pass the time. You thought about going shopping, but now that you were an unemployed, full-time college student you were officially saving any money you could get your hands on. Though thankfully, you lived with your best friend, and hanging out with him would surely help the time go quickly. After all, time flies when you’re having fun!

You exited your room and sat back down next to Wonwoo on the couch. 

“What should we do today?” you asked him. He merely shrugged, his eyes locked on his phone. “We could watch movies, or a TV show, or we could play video games…” you rambled, Wonwoo’s head suddenly whipping in your direction. 

“You wanna play a video game?” surprise was evident in his voice, but you just shrugged. 

“I honestly have nothing better to do.”

Wonwoo was not about to pass up the opportunity to play video games with you. It was one of his favorite activities and something that you basically never showed interest in, so with that being said, the two of you went into his room and played virtually every game Wonwoo owned. You ended up liking League of Legends a lot more than you were expecting to, which made your best friend extraordinarily happy. 

You spent the most time playing that one, Wonwoo refusing to admit that he let you win a couple of times. Around 2pm your stomach started growling, so Wonwoo basically forced you to stop playing and eat something. You didn’t want to, but you knew he was in the right for making sure you ate. 

After that, you played for about one more hour before you got bored. However, you were comfortably situated in Wonwoo’s bed and did not by any means feel like moving, so Wonwoo simply put on a movie for the two of you to watch. And then another one. And then you watched a few episodes of a TV show until finally, the moment had arrived. It was time to get ready. 

You excitedly jumped out of Wonwoo’s bed and ran into your room, shouting at him to get ready as well before closing your door.

You picked up your phone and shuffled your playlist, wanting to add to the anticipation with some music. After that, you opened your closet and stood in front of it. You looked through all of your drawers, but found nothing even remotely appropriate for a party. You then looked through all of the clothes that you kept on hangers, and right when you were about to give up hope, you saw it. The little black dress. 

You had bought it in high school, specifically for partying purposes, but you hadn’t gotten much use out of it since you purchased it. You only really went to parties when it was a friend’s birthday or graduation party, so needless to say it had likely been worn less than 10 times. You felt like it was an extremely cliché outfit to wear, but it was the most fitting outfit for the event you were about to attend. 

You took it out of the deepest part of your closet and gave it a look of distaste. It wasn’t ugly, it was just not the way you were used to dressing. You figured you could have dressed like normal, but you didn’t want to stand out in an underwhelming sort of way, so you decided that since it was your first college party, you would dress the part. 

You changed into the small, black article of clothing and immediately felt uncomfortable. Luckily, you had a little under an hour to get used to it before you had to leave. 

You grabbed your makeup bag off of your dresser and laid everything you needed out in front of you. A full face of makeup was another thing you didn’t wear very often, but you had to admit that you really enjoyed doing it. Seeing the finished product also gave you a decently sized boost of confidence most of the time. 

You took more time than usual, as you actually had a decent amount of time to do it, and you wanted it to look as good as possible. As for your hair, you figured you’d just run a straightener through it a few times right before you left and hope for the best. 

As you got ready, you wondered why Mingyu hadn’t reached out to you at all today except for when he told you the information about the party. On one hand, you didn’t respond, so maybe he took that as you not wanting to talk? Which wasn’t by any means true, you weren’t really sure why you didn’t respond, you just knew that no matter the reason, the suspense you were feeling would make seeing Mingyu again much more exciting.

You applied your foundation diligently and followed up with some bronzer, blush, and highlighter before finishing off with some eyeshadow and mascara. It was a pretty basic look, but still more intense than normal. You grabbed your hair straightener from the bathroom and plugged it in by your mirror, slipping your socks and shoes on while you waited for it to heat up. While you were willing to sacrifice your normal clothing, you weren’t so keen on replacing your usual tennis shoes with heels, so you paired your dress with a pair of Converse instead. 

You quickly checked the time on your phone and it read 9:58, which meant you’d be a little late, but you were hoping it seemed more fashionable than forgetful. You straightened your hair as quickly as possible and looked in the mirror one last time. “Wow,” you thought, “you did good y/n.” Giving yourself a mental pat on the back, you unplugged your straightener, grabbed your phone, and exited your room. 

Wonwoo was standing in the kitchen with his back to you. Though you couldn’t see his face, you could tell he looked good. Like good good. He had chosen a pair of black skinny jeans and a white t-shirt that fit him perfectly. Okay it was a super basic outfit, but the way he made it look so good, and from the back of all angles, was the impressive part. 

“You ready?” you asked, grabbing your house key off of the coffee table. 

“I’ve been ready for like 40 minutes.” he laughed under his breath as he turned around to face you. When his eyes landed on you, they widened to twice their size. “Woah…” he walked toward you. “What is this?!” he exclaimed, using his hand to motion the length of your body.

“Uh, party clothes?” 

He looked at you and you couldn’t tell if he was impressed or judging you. You gave him a look that said something along the lines of “stop looking at me like that” and eventually, he shook himself out of it. 

“Do I look bad or something?” you asked, a hint of anxiety in your voice as you handed him the key and headed toward the door. He shook his head no as he opened the door, motioning for you to exit first.

“No,” he said as he closed the door behind you, “it’s just… weird.” 

He locked the door and began leading the way, considering he knew where the frat house was for some reason. 

“So it’s weird when I look good now? Thanks, rock bottom feels great.” you joked as you walked, arms crossed partially because you were cold and partially because you were feeling self-conscious now that you’d left the house.

“Shut up, you always look good. You just look different.” he said sternly, tucking the key into his pocket. You felt yourself starting to blush, but you knew he meant it platonically. He didn’t like it when you talked down on yourself. You didn’t like it when he spoke poorly of himself either, but luckily he did it way less often than you. Wonwoo was confident, but he was also very humble, and you thought that was a huge part of his appeal. 

You walked in silence, taking in the nighttime sights of your university town. It was quite pretty, but you often didn’t notice as you were rushing to class or scrolling through your phone most of the time. It was a smaller town, but you preferred it that way anyway. 

After about 10 minutes or so, you approached a house with very few lights on that had music blasting through the walls. It had some discarded red cups and a sign with Greek letters in the front lawn, and though you couldn’t read them, it was safe to assume that this was the house you were supposed to be at.

As you and Wonwoo approached the house, you noticed that there was a gaggle of people on the front porch. When you got up to the door, Wonwoo stopped to say hi to one of them. He was on the shorter side with high cheekbones and a cute smile. Before Wonwoo could introduce you, he spoke up. 

“Who’s this?” he asked, motioning to you with the hand that had a drink in it. 

“I’m y/n,” you replied. Normally when meeting someone Wonwoo knew, you would want him to introduce you, but this guy had an inviting way about him.

“Y/n? That’s pretty, I’m Seungkwan.” he said kindly and you simply nodded in response. “Oh Wonwoo, you know Jina’s here right?” the shorter male said before sending your best friend a knowing smirk. 

You furrowed your eyebrows. Jina? You figured that must be coffee shop girl. Gross.

“Oh really? Thanks.” he said, excitement lacking in his voice. He began walking inside, so you followed suit. 

“See you later! Nice to meet you y/n!” Seungkwan yelled after you. You waved at him with a smile and entered the large, testosterone-filled house. It was crowded with college students and was way more packed than any party you’d ever been to. 

Your anxiety suddenly spiked at the thought of finally seeing Mingyu. The whole frat party scene was one you weren’t used to, so that wasn’t making you feel any better. Your hands started sweating and your heart was beating much faster than normal. You played with your fingers as you scanned the room for Mingyu’s tall figure. 

“You okay?” Wonwoo yelled over the music, clearly taking note of your shift in mood. You simply nodded and continued looking for Mingyu, hoping that finally seeing him would relieve most, if not all, of your anxiety. It also could make it worse, you thought, but you decided to wait and see. 

“I’m gonna get a drink, do you want anything?” 

“No, it’s okay,” you yelled in response, “I think I’m gonna look for Mingyu.” 

Though it was clear in his facial expression that he disapproved, he nodded and wandered into the kitchen while you made your way into the sea of college kids. 

Since you couldn’t see Mingyu standing up, you assumed he either hadn’t arrived yet or was sitting down somewhere. There was a clump of couches by the stairs, so you decided to check there first. After weaving your way through the maze of sweaty college kids, you finally approached them, and low and behold, Mingyu was sitting on the loveseat against the wall. Though he was surrounded by people, he was only talking to the significantly smaller male that was sitting next to him.

You wormed your way through another mob of people to get near him, and the moment he saw you, he flashed you the prettiest smile you’d ever seen. The butterflies in your stomach swarmed worse than ever before as he stood up to greet you. 

“Hi.” he said in a sultry voice, a small smile still present on his face. 

“Hi.” you beamed. 

“Wanna go somewhere quiet?” he asked as he gently caressed your arm before taking your hand in his. You nodded without a second thought. 

He started walking toward the back of the house in which there was a large sliding glass door. When you reached them, he slid one open and stepped outside with you. There were still people out there, but not nearly as many. 

He took you over to a large white cooler that was against the wall of the house and opened it. Though you couldn’t really see its contents due to the darkness, you reached in and grabbed 2 of whatever your hand landed on. He had chosen a beer for himself, which didn’t really surprise you. 

Finally, he walked you to a wooden staircase that led to the roof of the house. You climbed up behind him and once you reached the top, you were amazed to see that there was no one else up there. 

“Do people not know they can come up here or something?” you asked, sitting on the lone wooden bench that was sitting in the middle of the roof.

“I think they do, but most people that go to parties actually want to be surrounded by other people, you know.” he joked as he sat next down next to you. You smiled at his playfulness and looked over at him.

The moonlight accentuated his already perfect features, making your heart skip a beat. He took a sip of his drink and looked over at you, smirking when he realized that you were staring. 

“See something you like?” he teased, running his hand through his hair for added dramatic effect. 

“Yeah,” you admitted shamelessly, “I do.” 

You didn’t try to hide your face, shy away, or even blush. The night was making you feel bold, though you weren’t exactly sure why. Your relationship with Mingyu already felt so easy, you were extremely comfortable with him. After all, you’d basically told him everything about your life up until this point, and his responses to your experiences were wise beyond his years. Whenever you’d thought you’d done something bad or wrong, Mingyu always came up with a reason as to why what you did made sense. The way he never once judged you for anything you told him, even when it came to your more shameful moments, made you feel like you could trust him. He made you feel safe. 

The more you thought about it, the more you realized you didn’t want to let yourself think too much. Though you were already saying things that were out of the ordinary for you, you didn’t want to let your thoughts leave your head, at least not right now. That being decided, you made the choice to open one of the cans in your hand and down it in one go, because getting drunk totally wouldn’t put you in the position to say exactly what you’re thinking, right?

When you downed the last sip of bitter alcohol, you moved the can away from your face and brought it down into your lap. Mingyu was looking at you like you had two heads, but his expression only made you laugh.

“What? Impressed?” you looked at him teasingly, but he just shook his head in disbelief. 

“More like terrified. Please tell me you’ve eaten today?” he whined, concern lace in his voice. You could only smile in response. 

“Not since lunchtime!” you said perkily, setting the empty can down by your feet and picking up the full one. You knew drinking on a stomach wasn’t the smartest idea, but you figured you’d need a decent amount in your system if you wanted to do anything more with Mingyu than talk. And honestly, you wanted to. 

When you sat back up, Mingyu had his arm stretched out on top of the bench, giving you a spot to cuddle up next to him. You leaned against him and rested your head on his shoulder, his scent filling your senses. His presence was familiar and comforting, and that’s when something suddenly dawned on you. 

“Doesn’t this all feel a little… fast to you?” you asked, looking up into his soft brown orbs. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Maybe it’s just me,” you sat up straight so you could look at him head-on, “but I really like you. Like really like you, but it’s only what, the third time I’ve seen you in person? I feel like it’s weird...” you asked mostly because if he felt the same way then you would feel way less strange about having caught feelings for him so fast. The only person you had ever really had feelings for was Joshua, and you didn’t even know if that situation really fell under the “crush” category. 

“I don’t think it’s weird,” he shrugged, taking a sip of his beer. 

“Really?” you took a long sip of your drink.

“No. If someone’s right for you then they’re right for you,” he smiled reassuringly at you. “And if liking someone so quickly is weird, then I guess we’re both pretty odd.” 

You felt your cheeks heat up and your stomach begin to do flips at his words. You smiled at him, clearly smitten, and getting lost in his eyes as you leaned closer to him without even realizing what you were doing. You stopped when you could feel his breath on your skin. 

“Have you been drinking?” he asked sarcastically, booping your nose lightly.

“Yes,” you giggled, “but you’re the most intoxicating thing here.” 

All traces of playfulness disappeared when you looked down at his lips. They were the most enticing shade of pink, along with being the perfect size and shape to send you spiraling.  

“Y/n, we don’t-“

“Shhh, shut up.” you dropped the can behind you before grabbing his face and slamming his lips onto yours. They were just as soft as they looked and felt heavenly against yours. You kissed him passionately, saying everything you couldn’t say with words. 

Mingyu’s hand moved to your waist as your lips moved in sync, squeezing lightly as a low groan left his mouth. The sound went straight to your core, a whimper leaving your lips as you swung your leg over his body. You moved your hands to the back of his neck, kissing him even deeper.

His hands immediately moved to your ass, pulling you as close to him as he possibly could. His tongue slid into your mouth and it took everything in you to suppress the sounds your body so desperately wanted to make. You ran your fingers through his hair, a light sweat making its way onto your skin. 

You pulled away from the kiss, panting heavily, and kept your hands in Mingyu’s hair. You looked into his eyes before he buried his face in your neck. Then strangely, he had stopped all activity. You tried moving his lips closer to your neck, but he wouldn’t budge. 

“Mingyu?” you looked down at him. His eyes were glued to the place where your bodies met, his chest rising and falling heavily. “Mingyu what’s wrong?” you asked, trying to make eye contact, but completely failing. 

“We should stop.” he said sternly, removing his hands from your body. 

Your heart dropped. Did you do something wrong? Did he all of a sudden change his mind about you? You were finally feeling the alcohol in your veins, which wasn’t by any means helping the situation. 

“D-did I do something w-”

“No, no it’s not you. I just think I should go inside.” he avoided eye contact and attempted to move your body off of his, but you felt you were entitled to a slightly more descriptive explanation. 

“Wait, can you just tell me why-” 

“Y/n please-” he wrestled you off of his lap as gently as he could until you were standing. He tried to head for the stairs, but you grabbed his wrist before he could get there. 

“Mingyu what is going on?!” you exclaimed, and Mingyu whipped around in response. Only he looked different. Much different. His irises were almost completely black, his eyes rimmed with red.

And in his mouth were two long, sharp fangs.

a/n: so,,,,,,,,,,,,, long, filler chapter, and FANGS!!!!!!!!!! i’m sure u saw it coming but .. now u know :D i’m not super proud of this but i hope you all like it :( i’ll have the next chapter up as soon as possible but i did just start classes again so i’m not sure when that will be </3 i’ll try to make it uuuuh not super long sskdkdks