ᴍʏ ʙᴜꜱ ʙᴜᴅᴅʏ. [ᴍɪᴄʜᴀᴇʟ ᴊᴀᴄᴋꜱᴏɴ ꜰꜰ]

Ch.3-Invitation.

Ophelia got off the bus and walked forward. As she did, larger, yet gentle footsteps moved with hers. She turned around to look at Darryl, whose hands were in his pockets. His head pointed downwards. He seemed to be in his own little world-his mind. She tapped his shoulder. "Darryl?" His eyes went wide, and he looked up at her. "Do you live near here?" He nodded. "I live there," he answered, pointing at a large apartment building. "So do I! What a coincidence.

Do you wanna walk together?" He smiled. "Yeah."

The two walked side by side, talking casually with each other and joking around. It was strange. She hadn't even felt as comfortable with Ariel compared to him, and he was a boy! Darryl stopped in front of a door. "This is your apartment?" He nodded. "My mother and I, mostly. I usually stay on campus, but since my term has ended for now, I came here. I wanted to see her more."

"If your term has already ended, why do you keep taking the bus?" He giggled at her. She was confused, and it was adorable. "Well, I still help around the school. I tutor a lot."

"That makes sense. That's also a really sweet thing for you to do." He played with his fingers, shy and blushing. "You really think so?" He asked. "Yes. You take the bus for three hours every day to help people with their education. That's amazing, and it takes true dedication. You're a sweetheart, really," she finished, reaching up to softly cradle his accentuated cheek bone. His eyes widened, and his blush deepened. "I..." he didn't know what to say. Seeing this, and believing he was uncomfortable, she moved her hand away. "Thank you."

"Of course." She wanted to ask him something, and she grew nervous. They only knew each other for a couple of days. Would he think she was weird for asking? "Um, do you maybe want to come to my apartment? Y'know, to hang out?" She spoke, growing more regretful of her words.

"Yes, I would love that," he answered, to her shock. Ophelia stood there frozen, and he tapped her shoulder delicately. She broke out of it and cleared her throat. "Sorry, I thought you'd think I was weird if I asked something like that."

He tilted his head. "Why would I think that? We're friends, right?" He grinned softly.

She reciprocated, her eyes crinkling in pure joy. "Yeah."