Talk Nerdy to Me

Chapter 3: A Fun Day

Summary:

A day of fun with the ever-energetic group at the arcade.

Chapter Text

Chris' friend had texted that he'd arrived. Ra wasn't quite sure what to make of Chris. He'd been so kind to her. Kinder than many strangers she had met in her time on this earth. He reminded her a bit of herself, in that regard. She always tried to protect everyone around her, often to her own detriment. So when the knock came at the door again, this time quiet and almost pensive, she figured it was his friend.

Chris opened her front door as if he'd lived there for years, beckoning Ra to follow him out the door. Ra poked her head out into the hallway cautiously. She did not expect the absolute brick house of a man who stood outside her apartment door.

A fleeting thought tore through her head. If those guys had seen this man at the mouth of the alley, they likely would have started swinging that bat a lot faster. Or just run. She stifled the hysterical giggle that bubbled up inside her throat.

"Hello," she said, giving an anxious, restrained wave. She locked her apartment door behind her and bowed, probably deeper than she needed to. "I'm Ra Galis."

"Call me Changbin," he said, giving a light bow. His features were inscrutable. He seemed dark, and brooding, but in an oddly comforting way. He turned to Chris. "Hyunjin, IN, Lee Know, and Seungmin are all at the arcade already. Felix and Han are in the car."

"What's Felix doing with the two of you?" Chris asked as he led the way toward the stairs. He looked back at Ra, who had tentatively begun following the two men. "You'll like Felix. He's like a ray of sunshine."

Ra smiled quietly. "I've known a few like that before, but never a guy."

Both men chuckled at that. Ra's tentative smile widened. They both had such great voices. She could feel the lilt of Chris' laughter tickling up her shoulder, and Changbin's lower, near to her wrist. She rubbed her arm carefully. Not every sound did that to her, but enough did. It was partially why she had such a complicated relationship with music - a lot of music did things to her that most people couldn't imagine.

Having auditory-tactile synaesthesia was not easy. But she had used how music made her feel to make many of her paintings. Erotic as some music could be, painting what the music looked like was all the more potent. She hadn't tried to explain any of this to Chris. Sometimes people didn't believe her when it came to this kind of thing.

Down the stairs, and out into the street, Changbin led the way to a sleek black car. She didn't know the make or model - cars were cars to her, unless she was changing the oil. However, Chris and Changbin were both very, very big boys, and the back seat was where Ra was to sit. Felix, it turned out, was a very slender young man with almost ethereal beauty. Han was stocky like Changbin, but not nearly as broad.

Chris must have mentioned she spoke English better, because both boys greeted in in English. Han ginned widely, his cheeks puffing out just a bit cutely. "Hi, I'm Han!"

"I'm Felix!" said the other boy. His voice was high-pitched with excitement. She could see easily how he was sunshine. Felix had scooted over to let her have the end, for which she was grateful. She was not sure she wanted to be in between two strange boys after the night she'd had.

"You two be nice to Ra, she's been through hell last night," Chris warned them both.

Ra, for her part, was blushing a light shade of pink.

Felix leaned forward, looking up into her eyes. "Do you like music?"

Ra shrank into the seat. "Um... sometimes? It's not that I don't like it, it's just I'm not overly familiar with a lot."