𝕵𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖞 𝕲𝖆𝖒𝖊 | 𝕮𝖍𝖔𝖘𝖔 𝖝 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗 |

Chapter 6 | Blooming

A couple days have passed since you went clubbing with Gojo and Choso. You suffered a killer hangover the next day but found a mysterious cup of coffee at your doorstep that afternoon. 

Since then, Choso seems to be distant. He hasn't messaged you, nor have you texted him. Considering your friendship truly bloomed from the plan you concocted, there wasn't really a current reason to get his attention. 

Gojo on the other hand has been sending you text messages more frequently than his previous now and then. While you're pleased with Gojo's increasing attentiveness, a part of you can't help but feel a bit empty..

You're off from work today, thankfully. You sit on the couch, gazing up at the ceiling. An open book on one side with your phone on the other. Your phone buzzes and the screen lights up, reading Gojo's name. You tilt your head down and pick up the phone, holding it above your face as you read the message.

Lemme know when you're down to go clubbing again. 

The message doesn't seem to currently strike anything within you. No butterflies, no leaping excitement. Only a small, fleeting smile. You stare at the screen for a moment, your fingers hovering over the keyboard. An immediate response doesn't seem to come to mind. 

You think to yourself for a moment. Instinctively, you leave your chat with Gojo and swipe and tap to your chat with Choso. Still, your fingers hover over the keyboard. Right as you bring yourself to type out a message, the potent smell of one familiar cigarette seeps through the crack of your window. 

A grin crawls upon your lips. You push yourself up from the couch and head towards the front door. You pull it open and peek your head out and look to your right, towards Choso's apartment door. He's nowhere to be found, yet the smell still tugs you out of your apartment. You turn your head to the left and see him perched at the top of the stair case. Smoke rising from him. 

You close your apartment door and carefully approach him. You sit down next to him, leaning forward to see his face.

"Hey." You greet with a small smile. His expression softens at the sight of your face and the sound of your voice. 

"Hey." He responds back with a deep and gentle tone. Your smile grows, causing him to reflect the same sweetness towards you. Playfully, you pluck the cigarette from between his lips and take a drag for yourself. 

He raises his brows with a buckle, taken aback by your sudden boldness. Yet, somehow there's a solemnness about him that continues to beg your concern. You turn your body to face him and lean against the stair railing, pulling your knees up to your chest. 

"Stalking me now?" He asks light-heartedly. 

You hand the cigarette back to him and gesture towards the open window of your apartment next to the front door. 

"I smelled your cigarette from inside." You answer with honesty. He hums and slowly nods understanding. You look him up and down for a moment, studying him. 

His hair is back in its normal up do; two loose and spiky tufts with the rest of his hair flowing down, shaping his sharp features perfectly. Curiously, your eyes rest upon the black mark that sprawls from one cheekbone, over the bridge of his nose, to the other cheekbone. 

He turns his head towards you, resting his arms on the tops of his knees. His dark purple eyes meets yours as he takes a drag from his cigarette. This time, you don't look away, you hold his gaze intently. 

Deep down, your stomach twirls and a feeling blooms in your chest. One that you didn't originally feel around him. But, it's there, spreading and sending goosebumps crawling up your arms. 

"Haven't seen you in a while." Choso says, taking his eyes off of you and offering you the cigarette. 

"Had a massive hangover after the club. I slept in, then I worked last night." You feel the need to explain, putting a reason behind your distance from each other. 

A day earlier, a concerned Choso had knocked on your door with two cups of coffee in hand around the hour of noon. He waited for a minute or two, but received no answer. Instead, he left one of the coffees at your doorstep, not wanting to bother you. 

"Things working out between you and your douchebag?" He teases half-heartedly with a gentle nudge of his shoulder on your leg. Slightly flustered, you glance down as his playful gesture moves your leg to the side.

You roll your eyes and look away, taking a drag from the cigarette with an embarrassed smile. 

"I take that as a yes." He chuckles as you hand the cigarette back to him. He takes one more hit and puts it out on the stair way. 

"That little 'I don't have my lighter' shit that you pulled?" You mention, wanting to shift the subject away from Gojo. "You're a fucking flirt. Brilliant." A genuine giggle slips from your lips as you commend him, jabbing his shoulder gently with your elbow.

He scoffs but the corner of his lip curls into a modest smirk.

"Hey, I did my job." He defends himself playfully, tilting his head and resting it against the railing to look at you. "He couldn't seem to keep his eyes off you after that." 

He recalls the moment and his smirk fades. He parts his lips and sticks the tip of his tongue into his cheek, looking away from you. Thoughts seem to be running through his mind at a thousand miles per hour, but you can't seem to read him. 

Suddenly, he shakes his head.

"I still don't know what you see in him, Y/N." He sucks his teeth and leans back, placing his arms behind him for support. "He's hot, I'll give him that, but he's... him." His voice shudders at the thought. 

"I don't know." Your voice trails off as you start to consider it for yourself. 

"You've been hooked on him for how long, and you don't know?" Choso raises his head at you, puzzled with furrowed brows and a smile of shock. 

"Ugh please," You nudge his arm, facing away from him and hugging your arms to your chest, "I've heard this a thousand times."

"You're.." He turns, looks forward and huffs, "one hell of a mystery."

As you sit there finding your reasons for your long attraction, Choso reflects back on how he felt watching you sway your hips on Gojo. In the corner of your eye, you see his jaw tense and then loosen. 

"You know," You lean forward, searching for his eyes. "We should go clubbing again."

"Like I said, you say the word, and I'll play." He assures you, mistaking your offer.

"No. Just me and you."