groupie

-fifteen-

"So what'd ya do?" Felix perches himself at the edge of EunChae's bed, watching her draw at her desk.

"Nothing." EunChae grumbles, growing frustrated with her inability to perfect a single stroke in the already three hour drawing.

"You were gone like four hours and you did nothing—you also made dinner plans that are roughly an hour away. You clearly did something, Chae. I'm not asking for the gory details—I just wanna know that you had fun. You came back looking anxious and slammed your door shaking. We know that fun can end in overwhelming situations—so—we just want to know if you had fun. I just want to know." Felix frowns, getting to his feet to squeeze her shoulders.

"We talked about Chan. We talked to and about ChangBin. We got drinks and some food at a café. People took pictures of us running around by the river. We rode bikes. He tried to teach me to skateboard, but he wasn't the best at it either. It felt like the world was closing in around me when I was chasing him for my sunglasses. He was just playing and I really needed them. He gave in quick though—but the chattering of all the people taking pictures of us really got to me. So he walked me home. Before he left I told him I just needed time to calm down and that we didn't have to end our day there. So I agreed to go get dinner with him. Am I regretting that decision now? Yes." EunChae lays it all out for Felix to hear. She doesn't mind sharing the information. It's not like they did anything bad. They just hung out together.

"Why don't you tell him you're not ready yet? That you thought you'd calm down in time, but you haven't. You're still shaking, Chae." Felix's eyes soften as he takes her hands in his, her Apple Pencil slipping from her grasp.

"I—I'm going. I told him I was gonna go—so I'm going." EunChae insists, her breathing faltering a bit at the thought of being in a crowded restaurant.

"Would it help if I scold you about being home on time? We have an early schedule tomorrow. It's Monday." MinHo questions. He'd overheard it all as he was passing by. He'd planned on staying out of it, but maybe his input is exactly what she needs.

"Maybe. When do I have to be home?" EunChae mumbles, looking toward the older boy for a response.

"Well—you're meeting at 6:30–depending on where you end up going there could be a bit of a drive and wait—8:30 doesn't seem long enough—but 10:30 seems way too long. I want you home at 9:30 at the absolute latest. Earlier is better, but 9:30 at the latest." MinHo states firmly, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.

"That's still three hours, MinHo. That seems like a lifetime." EunChae sighs in defeat. She'd hoped MinHo would be unreasonable and tell her something ridiculous like 6:45 or something.

"You don't have to go, Chae. He's not gonna be mad." MinHo makes his way toward her, sitting on the edge of her desk.

"I don't want to upset him. He was excited." EunChae can't help but recall the bright smile on his face when she'd agreed. She could see all the plans in his head spinning away.

"Tell him we told you no. Tell him we said you couldn't go because you're too worked up still and you need to be relaxed and ready for tomorrow. You can go on a little dinner date with one of us instead. Go pick up some pizza or something and sit on the roof." MinHo offers her an out, deep down hoping she takes it. It's not a lie, they really do need her to be at her best tomorrow, but he's not going to tell her she can't go live her life if she wants to.

"I guess I could do that. I—I'll tell him we can reschedule." EunChae nods in agreement, happy to have some sort of actual reason to back out.

"Did you want to do a little dinner date with someone? I can go get their ass ready for you. Take your pick—there are five handsome bachelors to choose." MinHo smiles, trying to cheer her up a bit more.