22 days | felix lee

XIII | invite

━━☆⌒*.

FELIX SMILED FONDLY AT the cutely decorated cookies that were tucked away in the little plastic tupperware. It was cute and mimicked the ones he had first bought for her just the week before. There were some chunky looking cats, ones that had different spots on their 'fur', and some with bright green eyes.

They were absolutely adorable.

He had managed to find some time to bake after finishing his homework yesterday, so the cute little cookies were the result. Of course, he gave some to his sister (mainly so she'd stop annoying him). The rest, however, was purely for them: for her and him; their secret cookies. The thought of it made him smile bigger, his feet leading him to the library.

Like always, she was sat there. Felix was only late this time because he had to retrieve the dessert from his locker. Y/n had her journal in front of her, working on a different assignment as she killed time, waiting for him to arrive. "Sorry I took a while," He smiled apologetically, feeling like a bundle of nerves despite his smooth words.

Y/n shook her head, grinning shyly. "No, it's fine. For a second, I thought you bailed on me." There was a teasing tone to her words, but Felix couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. She noticed his frown and quickly changed the topic of the conversation, an apologetic glint in her eyes. "Anyway, what are the cookies for?"

"Your payment," He said, sliding the carton towards her before taking a seat beside her, opening his own journal full of the notes they'd taken together. She peeked at them, eyes glittering as her lips broke into a smile. "Ah, they're all so cute. You should bring me food like this more often." She seemed to disregard the no eating and no drinking rule, instantly reaching for one.

As soon as she took one bite, her eyes widened even more, if that was possible. The vanilla flavor of the cookie broke into her mouth combined with the pretty icing which turned out to be made of rich milk chocolate, the textures and flavors mixing perfectly. "This is really good; I seriously need to stock up on cookies from that café."

The girl spoke to herself, making Felix flush. From here, he could watch as her cheeks puffed up with the cookie that he baked. The small smile on her face made his heart pound faster as he clarified the miscommunication. "Actually, I baked those." Her head immediately whipped towards him, her eyes big as she gazed at him.

"You. . . made these?" The girl pointed innocently at the cookie she held.

A tiny bite was missing from it and he beamed slightly, noticing how happy those cookies made her. He nodded shamelessly afterward, only growing red at the sight of her adorable expression and his own nervousness. "Forget payments, you should just bake for me." She whispered before freezing instantly, gazing at him.

"Only if you want to—"

"—yeah, of course. I wouldn't mind."

The boyish grin on his lips looked so pretty on him and for a second, Y/n found herself wishing that it never left his face. She licked her lips, getting rid of any of the cookie crumbs as she nodded shyly under his gaze, suddenly feeling small. "Sounds like a deal, Felix-ssi," She replied, finishing off the cookie before daintily getting rid of the cookie bits on her fingers.

The two dived into the lesson right after, moving past the flustering moment created by the simple act of sharing cat-shaped cookies. "You've been doing well," Y/n said, watching as he completed the math homework that they were assigned earlier in the day. Felix laughed softly, his deep voice ringing out in the library.

"I wouldn't be doing so well if it wasn't for your tutoring."

"Yeah, but you've been reviewing on your own, right?"

He looked up to see her brow cocked at him, his brown eyes holding a confused glint as he stared at her. How did she know? She seemed to read his mind, explaining. "Sometimes I go to lunch, believe it or not. I see you looking over that journal," Y/n smiled slightly, shrugging lazily before leaning back in her chair.

Felix swallowed, feeling his mouth go dry. She actually pays attention to me now. "I'm used to people just relying on me last minute and then they end up blaming me when they fail. The reality is that most of them don't study on their own time, so it's nice to help someone with a solid work ethic." Y/n's smile didn't leave her lips as she glanced at him.

Her elbow was set on the table, cheek resting on her hand. "By then, they can't get a refund either, so they just end up hating me." The girl opened up a little, but she seemed hardly bothered by the harsh truth. Something in him told him that this had gone on for long enough that she'd gotten used to it; as cold as it sounded.

"That isn't right, y'know? To put work and respect into someone only to have it be thrown back in your face in the worst way." He clarified his point, running his tongue over his lips before his eyes darted back to his journal and incomplete worksheet, pencil frozen in between his fingers. "Yeah, but I've grown used to it." She shrugged again.

Felix spoke again, "Is that why you just. . . don't interact with anyone?"

Now that he recalled, Y/n hardly interacted with any of his classmates. In fact, in group projects, she usually ended up presenting alone and even did the work separately. The girl nodded, "I always do well, so the teachers don't really question it." He chewed his bottom lip, brows furrowed as he gazed at her.

"You're really talented, but. . . you should go out more. Not all people are bad, y'know? I won't push you," He took in a breath, drumming his fingers on the table as a wave of anxiety crashed over him. "But I want you to have lunch with me and my friends on Monday."