Wait for You (wlw) (Bitter spin-off)

sixteen

Vic's pov

Despite having spent most of the night wondering why I kept falling for people who didn't see me as more than a good hookup, I still was happy to go to Mei's house with her friends the next evening. And also, I just didn't want her to think something was wrong between us, since I'd told her I'd come the previous day.

I'd never talked to that group of her friends, although they were at the new year's party, but apparently they were all people she met through her skating circle, which was pretty cool. They'd known each other since the start of high-school, and even if they were all attending different colleges by then, Mei told me they'd been able to keep in touch with each other despite the distance. Apparently two of them were also in New York, so I wondered if Ellie had ever met them.

Throughout the evening, I could tell how close the five-people group was, and I found it great that they'd been able to form such a strong friendship through a common interest. And since I was always happy to meet new people, I was glad to spend the evening with them and Mei.

Since the town Mei lived in was bigger than mine, it at least had a main city center with shops and bars and other stuff, so we decided to go out for a while, which was pleasant because I actually hadn't been there in more than ten years and it was definitely less depressing at night than where I was from. But Mei's friends were all from there, which meant they eventually all started to go back to their houses, until it was just Mei and I.

"Do you have to go back home now or can you stay a little longer?" she asked.

As much as I wanted to stay, I knew what would happen if I went to her house, and I wasn't in the mood for that that day.

"I think I'd better head home" I said.

"Okay" she said, looking disappointed. "I just... wanted to show you something near here"

"Oh. I thought, you know..."

"No! I mean, not no, just...I wasn't saying that. There's just a place I wanted to show you"

"I guess I can stay another while, then" I said with a smile.

"Should I be offended?" she asked, tilting her head a little.

"What? No. I didn't mean it like that. Just... just show me this place" I said, causing both of us to laugh.

"Okay" she said, taking my arm in hers.

I really had no idea where she was taking me, and I didn't know if I should have been scared or not. I was just happy to be alone with her after many hours of socializing, honestly.

After a while of walking towards where her house was, we turned in a narrow alleyway, which was barely lit up.

"Are you sure this is safe?" I asked as we started walking up steps made of stone.

"It is if you trust me" she said, grabbing my hand.

"If we die here I'm gonna be mad at you" I said.

"Well, if you're dead you can't be m-"

"You get what I mean"

"I promise you won't die" she said. "We'll be there in like two minutes"

I decided to trust her, not that there was anything else I could really do, and just focused on where I was putting my feet to not trip for the next few minutes. We ended up on what looked like the top of a small hill, trees surrounding a pebbled road at the end of which was a bench, where Mei walked to.

"This is...nice" I said as we sat on the bench, admiring how clearly you could see the stars in the sky from there.

"It is, isn't it?" she said, facing the view in front of us.